For more than a decade, Miami-Dade County has been working on adding several miles to the Ludlam Trail in southwest Miami-Dade – but years later, most of the 6.2 miles of multi-use trail remain closed. NBC6’s Cris Hush reports
For more than a decade, Miami-Dade County has been working on adding several miles to the Ludlam Trail in southwest Miami-Dade – but years later, most of the 6.2 miles of multi-use trail remain closed.
On Tuesday, county leaders and developers cut the ribbon on two new apartment buildings totaling 64 units along Coral Way. A bridge connecting the two buildings over Coral Way has yet to be built, but when complete, it will also connect both sides of the Ludlam Trail.
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WATCH HEREThe groundbreaking took place in 2021. At the time, the estimated cost for the “rails to trails” project was $80 million. Funding for the project has taken time, according to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
“Permitting, environmental issues and community development. All of those things add to the time but also the costs," Levine Cava said. “It’s a very complicated project…the property was owned by the railroad company. So, we had to have that transfer.”
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During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, former District 6 Commissioner Rebeca Sosa told current Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis, “Don’t let anyone slow this down anymore.”
Later, she told NBC6 she was confident the project could be completed in a timely manner or else she would “go to the press.”
“I’m going to keep pushing because the money is there. The design is there, and we don’t have time,” Sosa said.
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Orbis committed to making the project a priority.
The trail was carved out by the former Florida East Coast Railway. Several years ago, a soil testing led to the County gating a portion of the trail to protect residents from contamination. This has also added time to the construction process.
Frankie Ruiz, who helped start the “Friends of Ludlam Trail” community group, says he hopes the new apartment buildings help give the project some momentum.
“I’d love to just snap my fingers, but we are dealing with government and there’s certain hurdles,” Ruiz said. “I hope a year from now for us to be having this interview walking down the trail.”
A completion date was not available at the time of this reporting. Ruiz says he believes construction on the pedestrian bridge over Coral Way will begin by the end of 2025.
