72 replies to this topic

[Brickell]

Just to distinguish between the two, this is for roads, airports, shipping etc.  There's certainly enough changes out there to warrant it.

Here's a couple to get it started.

There are big traffic problems in this area and this viaduct will go a long way towards improving the movement of not only people but of goods to the airport.  Why not a train though?


http://www.miami.com...ld/10951325.htm


Viaduct to ease cargo traffic

A truck skybridge along a traffic-choked road will provide a major boost to cargo haulers using Miami International Airport and to future warehouse development west of the turnpike.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@herald.com

A typical midday trek along Northwest 25th Street from Doral to the westside ''cargo city'' at Miami International Airport is a tooth- and gear-grinding nightmare.

More than 48,200 vehicles a day use 25th Street -- an estimated 20 percent of them trucks and tractor-trailers, compared with 3 percent to 5 percent on typical state or local commercial roads.

Thanks to some creative financing and legislative maneuvering, the Florida Department of Transportation is preparing to spend upward of $100 million to construct an exclusive skybridge for the trucks that will provide a huge boost for area cargo haulers.

The Federal Aviation Administration still has to sign off on the project. If contractors are selected by late summer and groundbreaking starts in January, as currently planned, the viaduct could be open in late summer or early fall of 2009.

''I'm very excited about the viaduct,'' Transportation Secretary José Abréu said. ``It's the poster child for the kind of projects that we need to be supporting across the state.''

At street level, 25th Street will be widened to six lanes between Northwest 89th Court and 72nd Avenue, and four lanes between 72nd and 67th avenues.

But what sets this project apart will be built 40 feet in the air, on a series of concrete and steel piers. The 1.18-mile viaduct would start just east of Northwest 82nd Avenue and pass over the Palmetto Expressway and three railroad crossings before curving south into Northwest 68th Avenue and touching down in the heart of the ''cargo city'' just north of 22nd Street.

Westbound trucks would exit either onto the northbound Palmetto or touch down on 25th Street west of 82nd Avenue.

''I can't begin to tell you how much relief that could bring us,'' said Roger Madan, president of Air Marine Forwarding, whose firm runs as many as 40 trucks a day into the westside cargo area.

LONG DELAYS

Madan said it's not uncommon for the four-mile trip from Northwest 107th Avenue to the airport to take more than an hour. Besides freight forwarders like Madan, another big beneficiary of the viaduct will be mega-developer Armando Codina. It was Codina's success with several generations of industrial parks such as Beacon Centre and Beacon Tradeport that created a large part of the demand for the viaduct.

And the project will only make the next generation of Codina Group distribution warehouses all the more valuable. Codina is developing 6.6 million square feet of warehouses on 432 acres west of Florida's Turnpike.

Coupled with a new turnpike interchange at Northwest 25th Street and the westerly extension of the Dolphin Expressway to Northwest 137th Avenue, the viaduct will give Codina's Beacon Lakes tenants an express shot into the airport. It was first proposed in the early 1990s as county officials were spending $500 million to expand the westside cargo area.

''If there's one thing that's growing right now at MIA, it's the cargo side,'' said Manny Rodriguez, planning manager for Miami-Dade aviation. ``It's growing at 10 percent a year and it's not going to slow down anytime soon. We definitely can use this.''

In 1996, the county and the DOT jointly financed a preliminary engineering study and the state acquired $7 million in extra land that would be needed to widen 25th Street and improve the major intersections with wider, truck-friendly turn radii.

But the rest of the project, with its estimated price tag ranging upward of $130 million, was dormant.

BACK ON TRACK

Led by Transportation Secretary Abréu, state officials put the project back on track.

The key: In 2003, at Gov. Jeb Bush's urging, the Legislature created a $100 million pool to boost ''strategic'' transportation projects that would improve the links between roads, rail, sea- and airports statewide.

Last year, a panel selected the 25th Street viaduct as one of eight projects for the first round of funding. At $25 million, the Miami airport cargo project received, by far, the largest chunk.

'In transportation, we talk a lot about projects that get us close to where we want to be but don't do `the last mile,' '' said Abréu, who was the Miami-area district secretary when the viaduct was originally studied.

``You know how we can improve the interstate to get you next to the airport or the seaport, but we don't have any control over the local roads in the last mile. Well, what we're doing here . . . is that we're finally doing the last mile.''

Another $25 million was set aside last year after another bit of legislative maneuvering created another pool of discretionary money for the DOT to apply toward major projects approved by the state Transportation Commission.

SOURCES OF FUNDING

Even though the DOT is an equal partner with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department on the viaduct, the state agency arranged for the county's $50 million low-interest loan to cover its half of the project. The rest of the money will come from the local DOT district's normal construction budget.

Unlike most major road projects in Miami-Dade's urban core, there appears to be little opposition to the viaduct, said Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez.

''Most of our residents live north of this area, closer to 41st Street,'' Bermudez said. ``When I've talked to people about it, most of them are in favor. They're stuck in traffic out there with the trucks. They know what it's like.''

[Brickell]

A lot of what-ifs in this article, but it'd be great for the airport and miami's trade if these came to pass.


http://www.miami.com...ld/10939085.htm

Miami may be in line for more African-bound flights

BY INA PAIVA CORDLE

icordle@herald.com

Miami will have air service to South Africa before the end of next year, and maybe even to Kenya and Nigeria, if years of courting airlines from the African continent pay off.

Miguel Southwell, Miami-Dade Aviation Department's assistant director of business development, just returned from 10 days in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria -- his second trip to the region in two years. During the visit, a South African carrier that asked not to be named yet committed to beginning four weekly flights to Cape Town, South Africa by the end of 2006, Southwell said.

''Miami has the same geographical and logistical advantage with Africa as it does with Latin America and the Caribbean,'' he said. ``It's the first U.S. airport you get to.''

During his trip, Southwell met with airline planning directors, as well as airport, tourism and government officials, travel agents and shippers about the proposed service.

South African Airways flew from Miami to Cape Town from 1992 to 1999, while it shared an alliance with American Airlines. But it changed alliance partners to Delta Air Lines in January 2000, and moved its flights to Atlanta.

Connections through Atlanta, as well as at New York's JFK airport are working out well, said Roberto Cuesta, South African Airways' Fort Lauderdale-based vice president of marketing for North America.

''We have spoken to Miami, but it's no different than speaking to any other airport in the U.S.,'' Cuesta said. ``We will be flying out of Washington [D.C.] by the end of this year, but we have no plans to fly to Miami at this time.''

MANY CARRIERS

In addition to South African Airways, other South African carriers, including Nationwide Airlines and Interair South Africa, have gained international flying rights since 2003.

Privately owned Nationwide established domestic scheduled service in 1995, and now has a 10 percent share of the South African market, according to its website.

The airline flies 250 flights a week to 10 domestic, regional and international destinations, including London, but currently doesn't fly to any city in North or South America.

Ronnie Harris, Nationwide's U.S. representative, was traveling in South Africa, and unavailable for comment. Another Nationwide executive reached in Johannesburg said he did not know whether the airline was interested in flying to Miami.

Interair South Africa is also privately owned and flies to various countries in Africa as well as to Indian Ocean islands, according to its website.

The bilateral agreement between the United States and South Africa allows 21 outbound flights each week for airlines from each nation. Currently, South African Airways has 14 a week, split between Atlanta and JFK. That leaves seven available for another South African carrier.

The unnamed airline that plans service has to apply for the route and add a plane before it can begin flights from Miami, Southwell said.

''They have expressed an interest in coming by the end of 2006,'' he said. ``My job is to accelerate that.''

FLIGHT DEMAND

Southwell said he has no doubt that demand for the flights exists, based on research by aviation consultants SH&E.

The airport had also talked to American Airlines about linking Miami to Africa. ''An interest has been shown,'' Southwell said of American, ``and we are planning to continue that dialogue.''

But American spokeswoman Martha Pantín said the airline does not see an opportunity for flights from Miami.

The planned South African carrier's flights would link Miami to Cape Town with ongoing service to Johannesburg.

Coral Gables aviation consultant Stuart Klaskin agrees that a market for perhaps three or four African flights per week exists. ''Depending on who it is and the frequency, I think they could do well,'' said Klaskin, partner in KKC Aviation Consulting.

KENYA POSSIBILITY

Service from Kenya to Miami is also a possibility. Kenya is the largest exporter of cut flowers to Europe, Southwell said. And it could tap into the U.S. market through Miami -- the arrival point for 85 percent of the cut flowers that enter the U.S.

In Nairobi, Southwell met with Kenya Airways, which he said expressed interest in beginning three flights a week from Miami but didn't commit to the service.

Southwell said the air transport ministry and travel agency industry expressed support for the plan, which is under consideration by Kenya Airways.

The government-owned carrier currently flies throughout Africa and to a few destinations in Asia and Europe. It has no flights to North or South America.

LAGOS LAYOVER

Because of the greater distance, the flights to and from Kenya would have to make a stop. Southwell said he proposed Lagos, Nigeria.

However, both Kenya and Nigeria are currently rated ''Category 2'' by the Federal Aviation Administration, meaning their civil aviation authorities do not meet international standards. As Category 2 countries, airlines from those nations are not permitted to add flights to the United States unless they charter a U.S. carrier's planes and crew, or those from another ''Category 1'' country.

But Kenya is closing in on ''Category 1'' status, which would allow Kenya Airways to fly to the United States. ''I'm optimistic they will complete the requirements to have their Category 1 by the end of the year,'' Southwell said.

The potential flights to Africa would provide strategic positions in the East, West and South regions of the continent, Southwell said.

''These things generally take three years to materialize,'' Southwell said. ``A material part of it is just building relationships because they have other airports pursuing them.''

[Aessotariq]

Quote

Why not a train though?

You'd need a really long embankment for the trains to make the climb. In the process it would cut off all the local streets and make traffic worse. It's easier to elevate the roads.

[Brickell]

good call.

[Aessotariq]

All I can say is, it's about time. Having exposed canals next to a roadway is absurd, and I can't believe that FDOT would have ever allowed this road to be built like this.
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Posted on Thu, Mar. 03, 2005

ROAD SAFETY
State plans barriers for turnpike safety

Barriers soon will be going up on Florida's top toll road. Officials hope the barriers will stem the swell of canal crashes and driver deaths.

BY PHIL LONG
plong@herald.com

In a move to significantly improve safety on the state's busiest toll road, Florida Turnpike officials plan to erect 280 miles of barriers to prevent cars from hurtling into canals.

Last year, 59 cars plunged into canals along the turnpike, killing 10 people, said Chris Warren, chief operating officer of the 449-mile turnpike system.

The $30 million construction project will begin in July with 18 miles of barriers on the Homestead extension of the turnpike in Miami-Dade County. At about the same time, crews will go to work on 58 miles in Palm Beach and 37 in St. Lucie County. The first three counties to get the barriers have had the highest number of canal crashes. From 1999 through 2004, Miami-Dade had 32 canal crashes, Palm Beach County had 65 and St. Lucie County had 16.

EXPOSED CANALS

There are 50 separate segments of exposed canals in those three counties, Warren said. Broward County already has turnpike widening projects that include canal barriers and canal fill-ins in some cases, he said.

That leaves about 15 miles of unprotected canals on the Sawgrass Expressway. The second phase of construction will begin when the other three counties are finished.

In 2004, three children from a Broward County church were killed when their bus went into a canal after a crash near the Broward-Palm Beach county line.

MORE LOSSES

There have been other canal tragedies. In April 2003, five women who worked together in Broward were on their way home to Kendall and died after their car was in a collision and plunged into a canal as they drove south on the turnpike northeast of Interstate 75.

In April 1987, a Georgia truck driver, his wife and their two small children drowned when their new tractor-trailer rig went into a canal along the turnpike just north of the Palm Beach-Broward County line.

From 1999 through 2004, there have been 164 canal crashes on the entire turnpike, 15 of which were fatal, killing 24 people, Warren said.

''Our traffic count has more than doubled since 1996 to just over 100,000 a day in South Florida, and the number of canal crashes has gone up, too,'' Warren said.

The barriers will go in where canals are at least three feet deep. In most places the barriers will likely be made of steel wire, Warren said, although the final design has not yet been set.

Under state regulations, there has to be a protective barrier any place where the edge of the canal is 60 feet or closer to the edge of the roadway.

A 2004 study showed that, with the exception of southern Palm Beach County, all the canals were more than 60 feet away, Warren said, but most distances were less than 75 feet.

NEARING FINISH

The turnpike is nearing completion of another major safety project: Guardrails on narrow medians to keep cars from crossing over and slamming head-on into traffic.

Most of that 165-mile, $65-million-plus project will be done by the end of this month.

Link to article

[Urban_Legend]

^That certainly is good news.

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Thu, Mar. 17, 2005

TRANSPORTATION
HOV rule changes may not be too bad

Controversial rules for High Occupancy Vehicles -- and hybrids -- on I-95 will change nowhere near as painfully as the state originally prescribed.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ
llebowitz@herald.com

In a reversal that will affect hundreds of thousands of Interstate 95 commuters, state officials late Wednesday significantly scaled back wildly unpopular High Occupancy Vehicle rules slated to go into effect July 1.

The Florida Department of Transportation originally planned on transforming the I-95 HOV lanes into a 24-hour, seven-day operation, in both directions, between the Golden Glades and the Airport Expressway interchanges.

But following several attacks from angry commuters and elected leaders, local FDOT Secretary Johnny Martinez decided the new HOV rules in Miami-Dade will mirror expanded hours slated to go into effect on July 1 in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

From Monday through Friday, the morning HOV-lane rush restrictions, currently enforced between 7 and 9, will expand one hour on both sides, to 6-to-10.

The evening rush restrictions, currently enforced between 4 and 6, will also expand one hour on each side, to 3-to-7.

Solo motorists may use the lanes outside those hours.

The other major difference in Miami-Dade: the HOV rules will be in force in both directions, morning and evening.

Drivers of recognized hybrid technology cars are the only solo drivers permitted in the HOV lanes during restricted hours.

''Eventually, we may transition to 24/7, but right now we're going to be consistent with Broward County and that will entail, of course, expanding the current hours,'' said FDOT spokesman Brian Rick.

COUNTY OUTCRY

The move comes weeks after county commissioners lambasted FDOT's plans -- in part because they did not match enforcement rules in Broward -- and refused to rubber-stamp a $300,000 public education advertising campaign for the new HOV rules.

Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, chair of the commission's transportation committee, praised FDOT officials for reconsidering the plan.

Gimenez said Wednesday that separate county-by-county HOV rules would have created serious confusion with the driving public.

''We just wanted some consistency, from county to county,'' Gimenez said.

Commissioner Sally Heyman, whose district covers a large chunk of the affected I-95 corridor, from Ives Dairy Road to Miami Shores, said she was ``excited and thrilled.''

Heyman had blasted the old plan as being too restrictive -- especially on weekends, when I-95 traffic jams are less common.

The current HOV rules in Miami-Dade have remained the same for a generation.

The controversial 24/7/365 HOV system may not be going into effect this year, but it is clearly going to be a part of South Florida's commuting future.

With the interstate's footprint constrained by geography and politics, and the region's population expected to swell by another 2.3 million people by 2030, traffic engineers say they need HOV lanes and other tools to squeeze every last bit of capacity out of the roadway.

HERE AND THERE

In most major cities, expanded HOV hours -- coupled with serious, regular enforcement -- is supposed to provide greater incentive for solo drivers to carpool or forsake their vehicles for mass transit.

But in South Florida, HOV programs have been a constant source of aggravation. Some drivers complain when they see the HOV lanes empty.

Hybrid drivers and carpoolers complain that solo scofflaws, darting in and out of the HOV lanes, reduce the time savings they deserve as law-abiding commuters.

Traffic engineers counter that the HOV lanes are about moving people, not vehicles.

''Look, we're probably going to end up going to the 24-hour system eventually,'' Gimenez said.

``But what they were trying to do was too much all at once. This incremental approach is the right way to go.''

Link to article

[Aessotariq]

I happened to attend the MPO meeting when this was initially discussed. The two commissioners mentioned in this article, Carlos Gimenez (Transportation committee chairman) and Sally Heyman (represents NE Dade) were vehemently opposed and were not pleased with the proposals of the DOT representative who sits on the MPO. Several commissioners brought up the concern that Dade needed to make sure it got regional cooperation from its neighboring counties before making any firm agreements.

In addition to each county MPO, there should be a regional body where all of these representatives can meet and make consensus. The SFRTA would be a perfect place to do this.

I agree: there should not be a 24 hour restriction in just one county... it should be uniform across the board.

As it stands now, here are the HOV restrictions:

Buses and 2 person car pools only
Dade: southbound 7am-9am   northbound 4pm-6pm
Broward:  all directions 7am-9am, 4pm-6pm
Palm Beach: 7am-9am, 4pm-6pm -- don't remember if there are specific directions restricted at certain times.

Edited by Aessotariq, 17 March 2005 - 06:46 PM.

[Brickell]

If they actually enforced this, it'd be somewhat meaningful, but as it is... just hot air.  I've yet to see anyone get pulled over on an HOV lane.  Granted I don't travel those routes too often, but when I do I see plenty of cheaters.

[Aessotariq]

Enforcement is random and infrequent. FHP patrols Palm Beach County more heavily than the others, I've noticed, but I doubt they're there primarily for HOV enforcement.

[Brickell]

This would certainly effect me in a negative way, but I don't think it's all bad.  I think it's false to say that "all" Dade citizens would benefit from road expansions.  West Kendall, South Dade and Doral are the ones those use the expressways the most, they're the ones that are calling for more roads and complaining about traffic, why shouldn't they be paying for it themselves?  Even so, this is a overly heavy handed way to deal with the situation.  


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http://www.community...s/local1_kg.htm

West Kendall fighting proposed x-way tolls

By Richard Yager


A move to restructure the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) led by State Rep. Juan Zapata is underway in response to growing complaints that an $857 million MDX program for five major expressways unfairly penalizes West Kendall.

Rep. Zapata will introduce an amendment to a major transportation bill in the current legislative session, calling both for replacement of the current 13-member MDX Board of Directors and tighter accountability by a new seven-member board for all projects, particularly those requiring new toll revenues.
“The current board is insensitive to West Kendall needs,” charged Zapata who said the current five-year program “unfairly penalizes those in the west who must daily drive downtown,” paying higher and more frequent tolls represented by two new plazas included in the program.

“A husband and wife who live in the west and use expressways to work downtown would wind up paying well over $1,000 yearly in tolls under the new program,” Zapata said.

“Take someone in the southwest entering below Killian Drive and paying a 50-cent toll and two $1 tolls for $2.50 one-way. At $5 per roundtrip for just 160 working days, you’re talking $800 per individual — well over $1,000 for one household,” the legislator said. “It’s totally unfair because it simply amounts to a new tax on the west section of the county to expand the expressway system for the benefit of all motorists,”

The current MDX board includes five members appointed by the governor and seven by Miami-Dade commissioners; the 13th member is the District Six FDOT secretary. Zapata wants to reduce the number of appointees by commissioners and eliminate those named by the governor to “move its makeup away from political considerations to reduce the pressure of having its members satisfy those who make the appointments.”

Zapata’s new board would include four commission-appointed members; one from Miami-Dade League of Cities (potentially a local mayor); one member of the Miami-Dade legislative delegation, and one from the FDOT.

An update of the current $857 million program to improve five major Miami-Dade Expressways caused several Kendall residents who fight gridlocks daily on commuter-choked traffic lanes to criticize the MDX during a Mar. 14 open meeting of the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations (KFHA).
State Rep. Anitere Flores (District 114) added her voice to the protest against new tolls by having her executive secretary, Claudia M. Arcentales, enter the legislator’s name to others opposing creation of new tolls.
Two projects described by MDX spokespersons as designed to “better area traffic flows” drew heaviest complaints:

• As part of a three-phase program to extend the Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) from Florida’s Turnpike to SW 137th Avenue, a new toll plaza would be built near SW 107th Avenue with projected east and westbound $1 tolls, in addition to an existing $1 eastbound toll at the Orange Bowl plaza.

• A new toll plaza on SR 874 (Shula Expressway) would collect from northbound motorists entering from SW 104th Street (Killian Drive) No specific toll amount was given. Motorists just below SW 104th Street now pay 50 cents to join Florida’s Turnpike Extension southbound.

“A new toll booth just east of the turnpike on 836 means anyone in Kendall headed downtown will pay $2 for each trip,” charged veteran KFHA director Martin P. Nash. “I don’t know of any other area of Dade County where you have to pay $2 to go downtown.”

The MDX is a state and county agency created in 1994 “to build, expand, maintain and operate” five Dade limited access highways: SR 112/Airport, SR 836/Dolphin, SR 874/Don Shula, SR 878/Snapper Creek and SR 924/Gratigny expressways. Florida’s Turnpike operates as a separate authority.

The MDX claims that its improvements during the five-year period would cause a $1.3 billion economic impact, largely by 13,045 jobs with an income generation of $462 million. Its presentation team focuses largely on the benefits extension of SR 836 to SW 137th Avenue would mean to West Kendall residents, as well as plans to build “managed” lanes which would offer faster travel at higher-than-normal tolls set by traffic conditions existing at the time of travel.
A 10-year work program is centered largely around SR 836 for a new westbound auxiliary lane, new LeJeune and SR 826/836 interchanges, a managed lane section between SW 87th Avenue and Florida’s Turnpike Extension, and completion of the SR 836 extension to SW 137th Avenue.

Sound barrier walls were another concern, an MDX official, adding surveys would soon begin in the Killian Drive area “resident by resident” to determine if 16- or 18-foot barriers were desired on SR 874 near the new toll booth area.
Miles E. Moss, president of the KFHA, said he “didn’t see that much could be done to eliminate or change current MDX planning since it is already budgeted and bonds for repayment issued, based on projected tolls.

“Nevertheless, it is unfair to have the western Kendall area continue to pay for improvements that benefit everyone else in the county.”

The single project receiving general support from KFHA directors is the reconstruction of the entrance ramp from Kendall Drive to SR 878 (Snapper Creek Expressway) in the K-Land area, and building a new ramp to connect Kendall Drive with northbound SR 874 (Shula Expressway) from SW 97th Avenue. No tolls are planned for either project.

[miamistreets]

From:Miami Today News

China becomes No. 2 exporter through Miami-Dade

By Claudio Mendonça
   China has surpassed the Dominican Republic to become the second-biggest exporter through Miami-Dade County.
   Sales of Chinese goods through Miami-Dade jumped from $1.8 billion in 2003 to $2.4 billion in 2004. Brazil remains the biggest exporter to Miami-Dade, totaling $3.8 billion in sales last year, up from $3.1 billion in 2003.
   Overall, Miami-Dade saw $28.7 billion in goods flow in from abroad in 2004, up nearly 11% from $25.9 billion in 2003, according to statistician Maria Iseman in the US Census Bureau.
   In January, Miami-Dade had imports of $2.4 billion. Of the total, $270 million came from Brazil and $243 million from China - a pace that could bring Chinese imports through Miami-Dade to $3 billion this year.
   China is the top trading partner with Europe and the US's third-largest partner at $231 billion, behind only Canada and Mexico.
   "Whether it is imports or exports, it is good to promote usage of the seaport," said Manny Gonzalez, executive director of Miami-Dade County's Jay Malina International Trade Consortium. "Trade services generate jobs for the county benefiting local freight forwarders, customs brokers, re-sellers and ocean liners."
   Brazil was the county's biggest buyer at $5 billion in 2004, up from $4 billion in 2003, and was followed by Venezuela at $2.3 billion. The county exported $30 billion in goods last year, up from $26.2 billion the prior year.
   While Miami-Dade exported $1.8 billion worth of goods to Colombia and $2.1 billion to the Dominican Republic last year, county exports totaled just $93 million to China.
   The county's international trade consortium recently returned from a mission to the Far East. In China, the 17 participants visited Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tianjin.
   "We signed an economic and exchange cooperative agreement between Tianjin and Miami," said Mr. Gonzalez. He said Tianjin is China's third-largest city and one of the fastest-growing places in the Far East. "It is a growing area and gives us access to the northern part of the country. It is becoming a major trading center and has lots of industrial potential growth."
   Mr. Gonzalez said Tianjin is growing rapidly and has the advantage of not being an oversaturated market, as are Shanghai and Hong Kong.
   The trip included a stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia is considering opening a trade office in South Florida.
   Domingo Moya, president of MVI & Associates, a company representing local engineering and architectural firms, said that because China will host the Summer Olympic Games in 2008 and the World Expo in 2010, there are numerous opportunities in construction. In addition, Macao is becoming a mecca for hotel-casino construction. Macao is expected to have 60,000 hotel rooms in the next seven years.
   "It was a very impressive mission working both ways," Mr. Moya said. "It was a beneficial trip."

[Aessotariq]

MIAMI BEACH

FDOT selects a firm to dismantle flyover

The Florida Department of Transportation has selected a contractor to remove the 63rd Street flyover in North Beach.

The $14.6 million contract was awarded to Gilbert Southern Corp., a leading civil construction and engineering firm whose projects include a $115 million runway project at Miami International Airport and the seven-mile noise wall along Interstate 95.

The FDOT estimates that the project will take 580 calendar days -- a little more than a year and a half -- for completion, with work scheduled to begin in April 2006. The state agency has offered a $400,000 bonus to the contractor to finish the project within 370 calendar days.

The single-lane flyover allows drivers traveling east on 63rd Street to get to northbound Indian Creek Drive.

More clips: Miami Herald

[Brickell]

http://www.bizjourna...25/daily51.html

http://www.go.miamidade.gov

Transportation portal comes online in Miami-Dade

Two launches that may cheer commuters: Miami-Dade County has started a transportation portal with information on road conditions, flights and public transportation...

The Miami-Dade County transportation Web portal is at go.miamidade.gov. The partnership of 11 transportation and tourism-related agencies includes Miami-Dade Transit, Miami International Airport, the Port of Miami, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Web site features links to Metrobus and Metrorail schedules, paratransit transportation services, how to sign up for a SunPass and People's Transportation Plan updates. Links are arranged by four basic categories: air, land, sea and accessible services. Also, recognizing travelers may cross county lines, links include Broward County Transit, the Florida Department of Transportation and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority...

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Tue, May. 10, 2005

DRIVING
Traffic delays here among worst in U.S.

Nationwide, travelers spend 47 hours a year stuck in traffic. In South Florida, the figure is four hours higher.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ
llebowitz@herald.com

It's no surprise to Eddy Barrera and millions of others of you stewing in your cars and trucks in traffic day after day: Rush-hour traffic in South Florida ranks sixth worst in the nation, according to a new national study released Monday.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County drivers take 42 percent longer to get around during high-congestion hours than they do in free-flowing traffic.

The South Florida figure has dramatically grown from a rate of 9 percent since the Texas Transportation Institute started compiling the annual survey in 1982.

The only metropolitan areas with worse rush-hour ratios are Los Angeles (75 percent), Chicago (57), San Francisco (54), Washington, D.C. (51), and Atlanta (46). South Florida tied for sixth with Houston.

Read more: Miami Herald

[Urban_Legend]

^I'm not a driver, but I've never really seen traffic that bad.  Maybe it's not as bad in Palm Beach County.  I've seen worse traffic in Jacksonville.

[Topher1]

I was in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale a few weekends ago with a friend from San Francisco (number 2 on the list), and he couldn't believe the traffic (on a weekend even).  He's used to commuting on weekdays in SF, and the weekend Miami traffic was far worse than he sees daily.

^ The traffic volume in Palm Beach County has never been that terrible for me, but the construction that has been nonstop there since I first starting going to South Florida in 1999 is a huge headache.  Once that is finished, the county will be a breeze to drive through, at least for a few years.

[Aessotariq]

I guess in a way, that's a indicator of all the stuff there is to do on the weekend. B)

Miami has its weekend chokepoints on 836 (Dolphin Expressway), east in the afternoon, west in the evening... The "weekend rush hour" starts a bit later than the weekday one.   And then when everyone is trekking to South Beach, the traffic gets congested eastbound in the evening. The Palmetto Expressway at the 836 interchange can also be fairly congested at this time too.

It's something you get used to, and you learn to maneuver around it. And you learn all the sidestreets, the ones that everyone else knows.

Speaking of traffic congestion, the stretch of I-95 between Vero Beach and Daytona Beach is a nightmare. In the urban counties (Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach), I-95 is an average of 8-12 lanes of traffic. Just past Fort Pierce it narrows to 4 and doesn't widen to 6 until Volusia County. The road is seriously over capacity along that stretch.

[Brickell]

Kendall Drive gets weekend rush hours as well.  The reasons: Target, Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  Bleh.  I've learned to take backroads to get to Krome.

[Urban_Legend]

Palm Beach County has recently undergone a BUNCH of annoying 95 construction.  We've gone from 6 lanes to 10!  (Jupiter and areas further north are like 8)