{"id":232450,"date":"2026-04-15T09:35:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/232450\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T09:35:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:35:05","slug":"why-miamis-new-downtown-bridge-project-is-behind-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/232450\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Miami\u2019s new downtown bridge project is behind schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Miami\u2019s massive I-395 highway reconstruction project \u2014 which was originally supposed to be completed in 2021 \u2014 has been quietly delayed again to late 2029, with the Florida Department of Transportation offering no public explanation. But lawsuits between the contractors and engineers and their insurers reveal some of the design errors and other problems behind the delays.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/miami-dade\/article315181611.html\">FULL STORY: Miami\u2019s downtown bridge project is delayed \u2014 again. Why is it taking so long?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here are key takeaways:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Latest delay: FDOT pushed the completion date to late 2029 by simply changing the date on the project webpage \u2014 with no statement or explanation. The project cost has risen from $802 million to $866 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Design errors: Lawsuits filed by lead contractor Archer Western allege that its engineering partner HDR failed to properly account for wind loads, including hurricane winds, in an initial design for the signature bridge arches. The error wasn\u2019t discovered until four months after the bid was awarded and caused an 18-month delay requiring a redesign, according to Archer Western.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Defective concrete: In 2020, a plant on the construction site produced defective concrete that was used for three months before anyone noticed, according to another lawsuit. Sections had to be torn out and redone, costing $3.6 million, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcmiami.com\/investigations\/miami-signature-bridge-project-delays-costs-lawsuit\/3759427\/\">according to WTVJ-NBC 6<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Human cost: Two serious construction accidents have occurred this year, including one involving a worker who fell to his death on Biscayne Boulevard last month.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 No transparency: FDOT declined an interview with the Miami Herald and did not respond to written questions. The agency has previously blamed delays on bad weather, COVID-19 supply-chain issues and even holidays.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Transit critics: Transit Alliance executive director Cathy Dos Santos called the project \u201cmisconceived from the start,\u201d saying highway widening and double-decking SR 836 \u201conly ballooned the price tag and stacked on delays.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami\u2019s massive I-395 highway reconstruction project \u2014 which was originally supposed to be completed in 2021 \u2014 has&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-232450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}