Completion of restoration of the Venetian Causeway stretching from downtown’s Omni area to Miami Beach has been delayed again by multiple factors and is now targeted for beyond 2032, a contract change up for county approval this week reveals.
As county commissioners vote on Amendment 14 with EAC Consulting Inc. to design plans for the replacement of 11 historic bridges along the causeway, they will be raising the cost of design by $1.3 million to $15.1 million and setting new deadlines for completion of the bridges.
According to the documents given to commissioners, EAC is now 60% through with its work. It is to continue to complete plans, specifications, engineering analyses and other technical documents. Construction is expected to start almost three years after EAC finishes and then take four years to complete.
The amendment to the contract deals with changes to the scope of the project, says the document signed by county Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales. Those include island restoration, residential islands roadway improvements, landscaping plans, a conch survey, and the relocation of a county Water and Sewer Department force main.
The scenic causeway meanwhile nears its 100th birthday in 2026.
Last year the federal government allocated over $100 million to restore the 11 historic bridges along the roadway that connects Miami to Miami Beach so that they can endure another 75 years. At the time of the award, final designs were due in 2024.
The bridge replacement project aims to address environmental and mobility concerns by incorporating modern safety and resiliency features while preserving the causeway’s original appearance.
The Venetian Causeway connects six manmade residential islands in Biscayne Bay to the mainland and Miami Beach. It has 12 bridges, including 10 fixed-span bridges and two bascule-leaf span bridges.
The causeway was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. But the bridges are in varying states of deterioration and have been repaired numerous times. The bridges and approaches don’t meet current design and safety requirements and are at risk of hurricane wave loading, storm surges and sea level rise.
Previous rehabilitation work competed in 1997 and 2008 aimed to restore the bridges to their original capacity and ensure the causeway’s continued safe operation, the memo from Mr. Morales said. “However, these repairs were expected to last only about 10 years, and the bridges now require further attention.”
In explaining the delays in the project, Mr. Morales wrote, “As design work progressed, unforeseen issues related to environmental, survey, aesthetic, landscaping, roadway design and geotechnical needs have emerged, necessitating additional scope and effort, including roadway design adjustments for the residential islands.” The new bridges are to be built to mitigate sea level rise by increasing the existing vertical clearances and adding resiliency components to the bridge approaches and adjacent spoil islands. The replacements will also be 16 feet wider, providing better safety for joggers and cyclists who regularly use the causeway. Also, some of the islands are to be widened to their original footprints following the impacts of time, erosion and storms.
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