Florida’s future I-395 Miami Signature Bridge recently hit several milestones as crews work toward a 2029 completion.
Two of the planned six arches for the 1,025-foot-long bridge have been completed, and crews recently finished erecting the 86 precast segments for the tallest arch, at 300 feet high, said Florida Department of Transportation Communications Director Michael Williams in a statement to Equipment World. Current work on the bridge includes building the precast segments for the fourth arch and foundations for the remaining arches.
For closeup drone footage of the Miami Signature Bridge's arches from January 2025, scroll to the end of this article.
Construction is also underway on roughly 36 temporary auger cast pile foundations and concrete pads to support the falsework for the arches and signature bridge deck. The decision to use auger cast piles – which are more commonly found in vertical high-rise construction in Miami – arose from the discovery by engineers that traditional concrete-driven pile foundations would not support the finished bridge, says Williams. This represents the first time that auger cast piles will support a major highway bridge in Florida.
Construction of the Miami Signature Bridge falls under the $866 million I-395/SR 836/I-95 Project, a three-project partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Greater Miami Expressway Agency that will reconstruct the Midtown Interchange of I-395, SR 836, and I-95 in Miami.
The three project are:
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.
Construction began in April 2019 and is scheduled to wrap up in 2029. A joint venture of Archer Western and the deMoya Group won the design-build contract.
The overarching project aims to reduce congestion through added capacity, eliminate left-hand entrance and exit ramps and improve local access to I-395.
Other ongoing work and milestones hit on the overarching project, said Williams, includes:
- Erecting precast roadway segments from east of North Miami Avenue to NW 1 Avenue
- Constructing footers and piers to support the new mainline from I-95 to NW 1 Avenue
- Finished auger cast piles for the new I-395 mainline from I-95 to NE 2 Avenue
- Installing bridge caps and beams between NW 17 Avenue and the Miami River using a custom 488-foot gantry
- Finished concrete replacement work on I-95 from NW 29 Street to NW 17 Street
