It appears the long wait for the PortMiami tunnel to finally open for public traffic will happen early Monday morning. The new tunnel’s opening will come almost three months after a large public ceremony, including Governor Rick Scott, was held to mark the tunnel’s opening.
But failures in the fans and other safety systems forced the lengthy delay for the $1 billion tunnel. The company in charge of the construction, Paris-based Bouygues, will end up paying approximately $9 million in penalties for the delay.
According to the Miami Herald, the tunnel is “expected to pull 16,000 port-bound vehicles a day off Miami’s downtown streets by routing them onto the MacArthur Cuaseway and then under Biscayne Bay for three-quarters of a mile.”
While the tunnel is scheduled to open Monday, the state’s fire marshall’s office will have the final say after a three-day final inspection of the tunnel’s safety systems.
