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Front Page » Top Stories » Signature Bridge megaproject now delayed to fall 2027

Signature Bridge megaproject now delayed to fall 2027

Written by on April 4, 2023
  • www.miamitodayepaper.com
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Signature Bridge megaproject now delayed to fall 2027

The vast highway project downtown budgeted at $818 million is steadily progressing, says the Florida Department of Transportation, as the monumental new I-395 Signature Bridge reshapes Miami’s skyline. But completion has now been pushed back to late 2027, years behind earlier schedules.

“Supply chain issues, among other factors, including weather and holidays, have resulted in project delays extending the anticipated completion date to late 2027,” state spokesperson Cynthia Turcios wrote.

The I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project is the work of a partnership between the transportation department and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and its contractor, the Archer Western – de Moya Group Joint Venture.

In an email to Miami Today, Ms. Turcios said the contractor has substantially completed concrete pavement replacement on I-95 within the project limits from Northwest Eighth to Northwest 29th streets and is returning the 95 Express entrance and exit points to their original location about a mile south.

The overall project includes a “Signature Bridge” over Northeast Second Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard, an upper deck of traffic built over SR 836 and the Miami River, and the addition of one lane to the northbound entrance to I-95.

Ms. Turcios wrote, “The installation of the southbound 95 Express poles has been completed. Installation of the poles for the new northbound entrance will begin from north to south and will start on Sunday, April 9.

“Drivers who miss the entry point for the northbound 95 Express lanes… near Downtown Miami can enter the 95 Express lanes just south of Miami Gardens,” she said.

Construction on the new State Road 836 double-decked roadway continues from Northwest 17th Avenue to I-95. The double-decked roadway will provide drivers with a direct connection to the MacArthur Causeway that is free of local entry and exit traffic.

The existing SR 836 roadway (lower level) and bridges will serve as a collector distributor system that allows drivers to enter and exit from the current local roads and I-95.

Ms. Turcios said, “The massive, 488-foot-long bridge cap segment and beam lifter designed to install bridge cap segments and beams for this project has completed the installation of caps and beams for the first four spans of the double-decked roadway. The concrete deck for the first span has also been completed.

“To complete the new SR 836 double-decked roadway, the lifter will erect 145 bridge cap segments and approximately 363 bridge beams. Each cap segment weighs just over 90 tons, and the bridge beams range from 100 feet to 190 feet,” she wrote.

Ms. Turcios offers more details on the project status:

Pier and foundation construction is mostly completed from east of Northwest 17th to Northwest 12th avenues.

Crews are finishing erecting two piers in the Richard Gerstein Justice Building parking area and began drilled shaft foundation work in the Miami River.

Widening of eastbound SR 836 from Northwest 12th Avenue to I-95 is scheduled to be completed in late April.

Once the widening is completed, traffic on eastbound SR 836 will be shifted to the outside from Northwest 12th Avenue to I-95, and a work zone will be set up in the median area to begin construction of the foundations and piers that will support the new second level roadway.

In August 2022, the new second lane on the eastbound SR 836 ramp to northbound I-95 was opened to traffic.

“The additional lane, a significant milestone for the project, has brought much-needed relief to drivers in the area by greatly enhancing traffic flow,” wrote Ms. Turcios.

Total reconstruction of the I-395 corridor continues with ongoing construction of the segmental bridges from I-95 to just east of Northeast First Avenue, and the construction of the Signature Bridge that will span over 1,000 feet from just west of Northeast Second Avenue to the MacArthur Causeway.

The contractor has erected more than 940 individual pre-cast bridge segments for the eastbound and westbound bridges that will carry traffic to local roadways, and also connect with SR 836 and I-95.

“These new bridges, being constructed on either side of the existing I-395, are scheduled to be open to traffic later this year,” she said.

Once eastbound and westbound I-395 traffic is placed on the new bridges, demolition of the existing roadway can take place and construction of the new center portion of I-395 will begin.

Signature Bridge construction continues with ongoing erection of precast arch segments at two of the four arches now under construction. A total of 20 precast arch segments have been erected to date. Foundation work is ongoing at the two other arch foundations.

Traffic shifts on I-395 and the Biscayne Boulevard ramp to the MacArthur Causeway have recently begun to advance construction of the final two arch foundations, and 122 of the 345 individual arch segments needed for the six arches have been cast.

The massive center pier footer between Northeast Second Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard just north of the existing I-395 continues to take shape with the completion of multiple concrete pours.

Crews are now placing forms for additional concrete pours that will serve as connection points for the arches.

Details: www.I-395miami.com.

4 Responses to Signature Bridge megaproject now delayed to fall 2027

  1. C

    April 6, 2023 at 6:51 pm

    So, does that mean they’ll be funneling Westbound McArthur into one lane till 2027??

  2. Florida Department of Transportation

    April 28, 2023 at 8:17 pm

    Yes, but the one lane configuration for westbound MacArthur is only temporary until April 2027. It will open to 2 lanes in April 2027 and revert to the original configuration when the project is completed December 2027. We appreciate your patience during this temporary change.

  3. Lou Gonzalez

    June 28, 2023 at 8:05 am

    Coming in 2027 to a theater near you “The Spider That Ate Miami”

  4. Nick in MIAMI

    July 3, 2023 at 12:22 am

    When I saw the rendering of the bridge I thought “wow”. Then I saw where it was being placed and thought “WHY?”
    there isn’t really any reason to put it there as it isn’t structural supportive for the actual bridge.
    Why not place it at the beginning of the water or even further out so downtown can see it – vs pushed between two buildings. Waste of money there to be honest.
    Can wait to see the money-pit homeless mall underneath it.

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