Corps of Engineers ramps up Tamiami Trail Bridge, Everglades restoration
July 12, 2010
By Nanciann Regalado (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District)
Story Highlights
- The Jacksonville District is rebuilding two miles of the Tamiami Trail to allow more natural hydrologic conditions.
- This reconstruction follows guidelines in the 1989 Everglades National Park Protection Act.
- The road remains open, but traffic delays are expected.
<b>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -</b> The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District is ramping up construction activity in the vicinity of a key Everglades restoration project - the one-mile Tamiami Trail bridge.
Construction activity is increasing along a two-mile length of the Trail. The eastern boundary of the construction activity for this phase begins about two miles west of the intersection of Krome Avenue and Tamiami Trail and the western edge is about four miles west.
The work requires some lane closures, but the road will remain passable. Travelers should plan for delays, as lane closures will allow alternating one-way traffic throughout the day. Warning signage will be posted. The public is advised to heed posted speed limits and to watch for construction traffic entering and exiting the roadway. The road shoulder will be closed to traffic.
Tamiami Trail was built in the 1920s for travel between Tampa and Miami, two of the earliest centers of population growth in southern Florida. Decades later, restoration agencies identified the Trail as one of the most serious threats to the health of the Everglades.
The Tamiami Trail Bridge will allow more natural hydrologic conditions within Everglades National Park, as required under the 1989 Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act. The bridge will provide major increases in conveyance capacity under Tamiami Trail and in flow volumes to over 63,000 acres within the Park.