Work on Miami’s 6-arch bridge begins as part of I-395 reconstruction

Artist rendering of signature bridge on reconstructed I-395 in Miami. Credit: I395-Miami.com

The installation of more than 1,300 auger cast piles for the signature bridge to Miami’s $802 million Interstate 395 reconstruction project is underway.

The 1,025-foot suspension bridge on I-395 will have six sweeping arches – the tallest of which is 330 feet high – over Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 2nd Avenue. The bridge will be illuminated, and a 30-acre community park will be built beneath it.

The project, to be completed in Fall 2024, involves reconstructing the connections for I-395, I-95 and SR 836, an area traveled by 450,000 vehicles a day.

New images capture #ArcherWestern-de Moya crews at work across #Miami's I-95/I-395/ SR836 corridor. Interchange core work, auxiliary lane extension and Auger Cast Pile installation are the many operations currently underway in downtown Miami. #WalshAtWork #ConnectingMiami pic.twitter.com/G2YxhkMiDw

— The Walsh Group (@thebiggreenw) February 3, 2020

On March 5, two new entrance ramps to westbound SR 836 are expected to open from Northwest 12th Street.

The project is funded by a partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. A joint venture of Archer Western and The deMoya Group won the design-build contract.

The project consists of three sections being constructed at the same time, according to FDOT:

• I-395 – Along with the signature bridge, the 1.4-mile section from the SR 836/I-95/I-395 Midtown Interchange will be widened to three lanes in each direction and provide separate connector ramps to and from I-95.
• I-95 – Concrete pavement will be replaced between Northwest 8th Street and Northwest 29th Street. An auxiliary lane will be added along northbound I-95 to improve flow at the Midtown Interchange. A new connector ramp from southbound I-95 to westbound SR 836 will be built to improve safety.
• SR 836 – A section of SR 836 will be double-decked and rise over the center of SR 836 between Northwest 17th Avenue and I-395 east of the I-95 interchange. The double-decked section will give drivers a connection to the MacArthur Causeway that is free of local entry and exit traffic, the FDOT says.