Another 12 months of near non-stop highway construction in the City of Miami is coming to an end, shaping new swaths of steel and concrete through downtown. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is touting significant progress on the multi-million-dollar venture. In an email to Miami Today , Cynthia Turcios, FDOT District Six communications specialist, wrote: “The year 2025 marked significant progress to the I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project, a collaboration between the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Greater Miami Expressway Agency (GMX), and one of Miami’s most ambitious infrastructure projects, as construction moved forward across all three major corridors. “From the rising arches of the signature bridge to the expansion of the SR 836 double-decked roadway, FDOT and GMX announced a series of engineering milestones that indicate the transformation of three of Miami’s vital corridors,” she wrote. The $866 million project includes a Signature Bridge with towering arches over Northeast Second Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard, an upper deck of traffic built over State Road 836 and the Miami River, and the addition of one lane to the northbound entrance to I-95. The main goal is to add capacity, enhance the flow of traffic and safety, and improve access along I-395, SR 836 and I-95. Ms. Turcios said the elaborate double decker work on SR 836 inched closer to the Miami River through 2025. “Construction on SR 836 surged ahead, driven by the continued use of a specially engineered 488-foot gantry system that has been moving east toward the Miami River,” she wrote. The SR 836 advancements have included: ■Crews completed concrete placement for the largest of three straddle bents, a key structural component spanning 180 feet and multiple travel lanes. ■Workers installed a massive 132-foot rebar cage, weighing 153,000 pounds, for a second straddle bent, marking another major engineering achievement. ■The concrete pour is scheduled for mid-December, with construction of the third straddle bent starting shortly thereafter. ■Concurrently, crews completed all 57 foundations and are working on the piers that will support the double-decked roadway; 39 of the 57 piers are done, with the remaining nearing completion. Seven concrete deck pours have been completed for the SR 836 double-decked roadway that totaled 12.1 million pounds of concrete. To accelerate progress, contractors introduced an additional pier-cap lifter on the east end of SR 836. Ms. Turcios said this is enabling faster installation of precast pier caps, helping maintain momentum along this critical east-west connection. The past year also included milestones in massive I-95 pavement replacement. Ms. Turcios said the I-95 corridor also saw substantial advancement, with pavement replaced through some of Miami’s busiest segments. The contractor has officially completed the northern limits of the project, from Northwest 17th to 29th streets, which brings long-sought improvements to one of the city’s most heavily traveled stretches, she said. Between Northwest Eighth and 17th streets, pavement replacement continued. Northbound lanes are now finished, while work on the southbound lanes has surpassed 95% completion. Once done, these upgrades will provide a smoother, safer, and longer-lasting roadway surface. Ms. Turcios said work on the iconic Signature Bridge and new segmental bridges are defining a new I-395 skyline. The I-395 complete reconstruction – anchored by Miami’s future signature bridge – hit several landmarks in 2025. During the busy year crews completed closure pours on two of the bridge’s six sweeping arches, including the tallest arch, which rises 330 feet over the urban core. With these additions, half the arches are complete. All 345 precast arch segments – each uniquely formed – have been fully cast, and 213 of the 90-ton pieces have already been erected, shaping the bridge’s distinctive silhouette, she said. Below ground, foundation activities also reached major thresholds. All 530 permanent 36-inch auger cast piles, some 135 feet deep, have been installed, along with 360 temporary piles used for supporting falsework during arch assembly. Recently, the contractor completed the concrete pour for the foundation of one of the arches, which required 600,000 pounds of rebar and 165 truckloads of concrete. This brings completed arch foundations to five, with the sixth rapidly progressing. Just west of the signature bridge, the segmental bridges connecting I-95 and SR 836 continued to rise. Workers completed all 957 of the 30-inch auger cast piles and erected more than 1,200 of the 1,947 precast roadway segments, pushing the high-capacity new I-395 mainline closer to its future configuration. Also, this year, the contractor completed and opened the new bridge for the northbound I-95 ramp to eastbound I-395, which now provides wider shoulders. Two other ramps, the southbound I-95 to eastbound I-395 and the westbound I-395 ramp to southbound I-95, are to be open in the second quarter of 2026. Project completion is targeted for late 2029. Details: www.I-395miami.com The post Massive Signature Bridge project still has four years to go appeared first on Miami Today. ...read more read less