From David Volz
The Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) received confirmation of a grant award of $100.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation Bridge Investment Program (BIP) for the Venetian Causeway Project. This important funding will help support bridge replacement, resilience, and preservation of the historic bridges along the Venetian Causeway.
The Venetian Causeway Project, in collaboration with state and federal partners, aims to replace 11 bridges, including the easternmost movable bridge, which have all reached the end of their useful life. Constructed in the mid-1920s with an initial design life of 50 years, these bridges are crucial connectors between Miami and Miami Beach.
“We are honored to receive this substantial investment, and we are extremely grateful to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and our Congressional Delegation for making it happen,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “This project is crucial to improve mobility to and from the beach on a vital roadway for residents who live and work there and for millions of tourists who visit our County, as well as protect a key evacuation road during storms. This investment will help future-proof our infrastructure while generating jobs to support our local economy – a major step forward in our ongoing efforts to upgrade our infrastructure and build a resilient, future-ready Miami-Dade.”
Once completed, the bridge replacement project will make the Venetian Causeway a safer and more efficient corridor for all users.
“The Venetian Causeway Project is such an important endeavor for resilience as well as public safety,” said Jimmy Morales, Chief Operating Officer for Miami-Dade County. “We thank the County and DTPW teams that worked on the grant proposal and especially Mayor Cava for championing the proposal in Washington D.C.”
The new bridges, designed to have a useful life of approximately 75 years, will honor the history and original appearance of the Venetian Causeway while incorporating modern safety features. They will also address environmental and mobility concerns by being 16 feet wider, providing increased safety for vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. Additional infrastructure improvements, such as FPL feeder lines and water main replacement, will service the City of Miami Beach.
“The new bridges will address current safety concerns, including increased weight limits to improve the delivery of goods to area residents,” added Eulois Cleckley, Director and CEO of DTPW. “We are excited to move this project forward and make the Venetian Causeway safer and better connected for all users.”
As part of the project’s timeline, DTPW hosted a public meeting to present plans and provide information about the design phase of the project in April 2023. The project’s team has been working on finishing the 90% design milestone, scheduled for submittal at the end of 2024. The design and permitting phase are estimated to be completed by the end of 2025. Construction advertisement is tentatively estimated for early 2026.
