A Light at the End of the Miami Tunnel
The port of Miami tunnel gets final approval to be built
Peter Cade
These days you have to take anything labeled as a victory out of Mayor Manny Diaz's mouth with a pillar of salt.
The rumored port of Miami tunnel crossed its final hurdle Thursday, according to the Miami Herald, and will definitely be built. That's the good news.
Wait for it. Wait for it.
But the machine to dig such a massive tunnel hasn't even been created yet. That's kind of like someone saying the president gave them approval to go back and fix the economy, but the time machine hasn't been invented yet.
The machine that will be used to dig the $1 billion tunnel will cost about $50 million itself and is at least a year away from being constructed. And that's being ambitious, kind of like the tunnel itself.
The three-mile port tunnel is designed to divert freighter traffic from the Port of Miami underneath downtown and to the interstates for quick and easy shipping. No more night club stops for truckers, we're afraid.
The boring machine is being built by a French consortium, which had their own share of troubles to get the contract for the project, despite having France's contribution to the tunnels under the English Channel on its resume.
Wouldn't it just be easier to hijack a freighter full of moles and gophers and put them to work?
Posted Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 - 5:25 PM EST
