Officials from Miami Beach traveled to Washington D.C. to work with U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and other members of the South Florida delegation to talk to transportation officials about the 95 Express Project.
Miami Beach’s concern is that residents and employees of major employers in the city would have to travel through the already congested city to catch the MacArthur Causeway, if they wanted to take advantage of the new HOT lanes. In addition, the work was to be scheduled in early 2009, during the peak of tourism season. When Miami Beach officials learned of the schedule, they convinced FDOT to postpone the work a couple of months.
They were successful in convincing transportation officials to allow City of Miami Beach and State of Florida traffic engineers to study the proposed project. Engineers will consider options on how to accommodate traffic coming and going to Miami Beach using the Julia Tuttle Causeway into and out of the new High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes.
“The current configuration can pose a huge problem for emergency vehicles trying to get to Mount Sinai Hospital,” said Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower. “If it weren’t for our federal legislators like Ileana and Debbie Wasserman Shultz, we would never have been heard.”
According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the new 95 Express will reduce congestion on 1-95 by introducing express lanes and bus rapid transit service from 1-395 (MacArthur Causeway) in downtown Miami to Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The lanes will not be accessible to and from the 1-195 (Julia Tuttle Causeway), at least not in its present configuration. The Julia Tuttle is a critical link to and from 1-95 for the city’s major employment centers and hotel districts affecting residents, employees and visitors.
“We have relentlessly been trying to address this for monthswith transportation officials. The tourism industry does not just support Miami Beach, it supports the entire region,” added Miami Beach City Manager Jorge M. Gonzalez.
The 95 Express will operate as High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, separated from regular traffic lanes, that drivers can choose to use when their time is more valuable than the toll they might pay. Tolls will fluctuate, the goal being to keep traffic in the lanes moving at a speed of approximately 50 miles per hour. Emergency vehicles, registered vanpools, registered carpools of three or more, registered hybrid vehicles and motorcycles can use the lanes without paying a toll. Buses of several types can also use the lanes toll free. Trucks will not be allowed to use the express lanes.
The first phase is nearing completion. The next phase includes significant modifications to the on and off ramps between 1-95 and State Road 112 (the Airport Expressway), as well as all necessary work along the southbound lanes of the interstate. During the southbound construction, the two bridges from westbound 1-195 to southbound 1-95 and from northbound 1-95 to westbound SR 112 will have to be lifted and elevated. Some supports may also have to be replaced to create extra space on 1-95. The ramp to eastbound 1-195 will close for a period during this phase. Southbound toll lanes are expected to be completed by late 2009 and the entire project will be completed by spring 2010.
