I-395 will be grand, again. The plan to build a new signature highway span to replace the now-horrendous I-395 that divides downtown Miami is back. FDOT had originally planned a monumental bridge to garner public support for the project, then pulled out a “bait & switch” on the public with a much more plain jane (as the Miami Herald called it) varietal called a “segmented span”. Even the name was boring, as commissioners and just about everyone knew as they reacted with shock and horror, and FDOT was quickly slapped with a lawsuit by no less than Mayor Regalado and Commissioner Sarnoff.
Finally, with gubernatorial intervention, FDOT has been bitchslapped into submission. With an only slightly constrained budget of $600 million compared to the $673 million that the original ‘wishbone arch’ design would have cost, it’s full steam ahead for a grand monumental bridge over Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown Miami. With a new design.