Like giant arching spider legs, the unique supports of the new Signature Bridge supporting an updated I-395 highway continue to rise in the heart of downtown Miami, with completion planned late in 2027.
Steady work continues on all three corridors of the massive I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project in Miami, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) says.
This sweeping venture is the product of a partnership between FDOT and the Greater Miami Expressway Agency and its contractor, the Archer Western – de Moya Group Joint Venture.
Maria Rosa Higgins Fallon, public information director of FDOT’s District Six, says construction on the overall project is ongoing around the clock as crews make progress on all three corridors.
She wrote in an email: “This past weekend, closures of the SR 836 and I-395 ramps to southbound I-95 were implemented, allowing the contractor to complete pavement replacement work in the area to connect the new westbound I-395 ramp to the existing southbound I-95 ramp.
“Additional pavement replacement work is ongoing on I-95 from NW 17th Street to NW Eighth Street. The contractor is also replacing the traffic railing on northbound I-95 from NW Eighth Street to NW 17th Street, requiring nighttime closures of the NW Eighth Street entrance ramp and travel lanes on I-95.”
The $818 million project includes the Signature Bridge over Northeast Second Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard, an upper deck of traffic built over State Road 836 and the Miami River, and the addition of one lane to the northbound entrance to I-95.
The overall aim is to add capacity, enhance the flow of traffic and safety, and improve access along I-395, SR 836 and I-95.
On State Road 836, work is ongoing day and night to construct foundations and piers for the new double-deck roadway from NW 12th Avenue to I-95.
Ms. Fallon said crews are using a 488-foot gantry specially designed for this project to install bridge caps and beams between NW 17th Avenue and the Miami River.
The project team has added a lifting beam on SR 836, west of I-95, to begin to install bridge pier caps.
“Construction also continues on erecting formwork on eastbound SR 836 for the second of three massive straddle bent structures that will ultimately support the double-deck roadway,” wrote Ms. Fallon. “To safely complete the overhead work along SR 836, full closures are being implemented almost nightly at NW 12th Avenue in the westbound direction and at NW 17th Avenue in the eastbound direction.”
She said the comprehensive reconstruction of I-395 continues along the corridor, including construction of the iconic six-arched signature bridge and the new higher-capacity mainline.
Two of the six soaring arches have been completed, and the team is currently erecting precast arch segments for the tallest arch, which will rise 330 feet.
Sixty-eight of the 86 precast arch segments have already been installed. Nighttime closures of Biscayne Boulevard between NE 13th and 11th streets will be used when necessary to safely install arch segments over the roadway.
Installation of 65 arch segments for a fourth arch is expected to start in early July. Work on the foundations for the remaining two arches is ongoing.
Ms. Fallon says that, in addition to the permanent structures being built, significant temporary work is underway.
Her latest email offers more details of the work:
About 36 temporary auger cast pile foundations and numerous concrete pads are being built to support the structures for the arches and the signature bridge concrete deck.
Crews have extended the steel support structure over NE Second Avenue for construction of the westbound signature bridge roadway.
Recently, a temporary concrete foundation was poured in the Biscayne Boulevard median, requiring 690 tons of concrete to support one of the arches during construction.
The sidewalk on Biscayne Boulevard between NE 13th and 11th streets is closed to allow crews to work safely on additional temporary foundations adjacent to the sidewalk.
Pedestrians are being detoured to NE Second Avenue until the sidewalk reopens, which is scheduled for the week of June 23, she said.
All the auger cast piles for the new I-395 mainline in the Overtown and Omni areas, from I-95 to NE Second Avenue, are completed. Currently, precast roadway segments are being erected from east of North Miami Avenue to NW First Avenue.
Significant progress has been made in constructing the footers and piers that will support the new mainline from I-95 to NW First Avenue. Work also continues on the new westbound I-395 ramp to southbound I-95, where crews recently completed a concrete pour for a section of the ramp. Additional deck concrete pours are coming.
Details: www.I-395miami.com
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