Dolphin Expressway getting double-decker lifted bridge

A project on the Dolphin Expressway (State Road 836) could enhance the traffic in the area by creating a double-decker lifted bridge over the current interstate along one of Miami’s most swarmed lanes.

Miami Expressway Authority (MDX) finances the venture costing $186 million coming from toll revenue. The project is planned to modernize the 836 between Northwest 17th Avenue and the Midtown Interchange.

“You’re going to have the option to stay on the existing bridge that’s there today or get on this new viaduct,” said MDX Director of Engineering’s Juan Toledo. “If you want to go down toward the beach or take I-95 north or south, basically what it’s going to do is separate those movements, so it distributes traffic flow more efficiently and eliminates those bottlenecks you have there with people trying to go to I-95 north at the last minute or I-95 south. You’re eliminating a lot of those operational deficiencies by separating those traffic movements.”

The Viaduct, how the project has been called, is part of $802 million development plan created in partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation and MDX. Including in the project are the Viaduct, I-95 asphalt reconstruction, and I-395 upgrades including a bridge traversing 1,025 feet over Northeast Second Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard that will “[redefine] the Miami skyline with its six sweeping arches,” as indicated by a specialized proposition from Archer Western-de Moya Joint Venture, the construction group on the project.