FYI Miami: January 11, 2024

Below are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

BRIDGING THE GAP: A $5 million contract for project development and engineering to rehabilitate the decayed Bear Cut Bridge and other bridges on the Rickenbacker Causeway that links Key Biscayne to Miami is up for a committee hearing this week and county commission vote Feb. 6. The contract with Atkins North America Inc. would help determine whether to rehabilitate or replace the bridges, evaluate feasible alternatives, and look at how to accelerate work. The studies would meet state and federal requirements to fund the project. The county started to seek a firm to do the job in January 2023. Last March the county also hired HNTB Corp. for $2.2 million to analyze options for the bridges and inspect the causeway. HNTB was also to report how much revenue causeway tolls could generate for the work. The Bear Cut Bridge, built in 1944, was upgraded a decade ago, and the county said then that upgrade could last 10 years. In 2022 the county rejected a privately financed plan that would have replaced the Bear Cut Bridge and repaired the causeway funded by tolls and revenue-raising enterprises.

CANAL BRIDGE DELAYED AGAIN: Work to replace the North Miami Avenue Bridge over the Little River Canal that was supposed to be finished nearly four years ago is being extended almost three more years, with the upshot being a six-and-a-third-year contract costing $658,000 more. It’s the third extension of the now-$3.58 million contract with Douglas N. Higgins Inc., following one for 292 days and another for 174 days. The latest delay came when the old bridge was removed and contractors discovered “loose material in canal bank under the bridge that differed from what was specified, requiring an unanticipated redesign and re-permitting associated with improvements to the canal bank to prevent erosion,” according to county documents. The county’s Transportation, Mobility and Planning Committee is being asked this week to approve the latest change to the contract.

PICKLEBALL EXTRAVAGANZA: What bills itself as “the world’s largest pickleball festival,” The Pickle Games, is planned for Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key Jan. 13 and 14. The event, produced by Black Stage Productions, says it is also a first-of-its-kind pickleball festival open to everyone from amateurs to professional picklers. Organizers say the event boasts “up to 50 courts” plus a vendor village, musical performances, a beach club, VIP experiences and partnerships with local and national sponsors.

GAS BUBBLES UP: Average gasoline prices in Miami rose 9.5 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.19, according to GasBuddy. Prices in Miami are 8.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago but 13.2 cents lower than a year ago. The national average price fell 3.8 cents in the last week to $3.03, down 12.2 cents from a month ago and 22 cents lower than a year ago.