Venetian Causeway bridges facing major renovations — here's the plan

The bridges along the Venetian Causeway are a historic landmark since they were built in 1927. That rich history means they’re also showing their age. 

“This beautiful bridge is 50 years past its 50-year expected life span,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. 

Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Florida Department of Transportation are working with their partners to replace 11 of the 12 bridges as part of the Venetian Causeway Bridge Replacement Project.

The structures have faced some deterioration after weathering hurricanes over the years, so project leaders say repairs on the bridges have been long overdue. 

“This will improve the bridge. Not only will it be able to take more weight, because we’ve limited the weight due to the fact that it’s old and we don’t want to create any dangers, but also we’ll widen it," Levine Cava said. "That will be really helpful for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. We will be restoring it in a way that will be consistent with the history and also elevating it and creating more resilience features along with it."

The project is currently in the design phase and it took a lot of work behind the scenes to get to this point.

“The federal government has a lengthy process that is required called the PD&E and they include in cases like this, not only the safety but historic and environmental, and each of those things adds time, so it’s been about a ten-year process for the study and design," Levine Cava said.

After the design phase is complete, construction is expected to start in 2025. The project is estimated to cost around $149 million in a mix of federal, state and local funds. 

Residents who live along the causeway weighed in on the project. 

“I actually think that it’s a good thing. The bridges are pretty old. I’d rather be safe than sorry," resident Tashima Matthis said. "From what I read they’re going to keep lanes open."

“I think that it’s obviously going to impact the inflow and outflow on the Venetian, especially for all the houses on the island," resident Arya Chatani said. "It’s very challenging to turn into a neighborhood when there’s loads of traffic. It’s going to make things more challenging."

Engineers got input from the community at recent public meetings and they plan to do the construction in phases while creating temporary bridge structures to keep traffic flowing. 

“We have to make sure that we take into account the traffic impacts from not only the tourism angle, but also the locals that live nearby so we’re making sure that we phase out the construction starting from the east and then heading west," said Gabriel Delgado, a project manager with the highway bridge and engineering division at Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works. "We’re trying to group the construction to be a couple of bridges at a time to last approximately one to two years per group."

Once construction begins in 2025, engineers expect that it will take about four years to complete the project.