Dear Neighbor,

Earlier this week the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) began 24-hour closure of 2 westbound lanes on the MacArthur Causeway as part of critical repairs to the top and bottom of the bridge. The Causeway is a State of Florida road.
 
The closure has been extremely disruptive and for many of our residents – especially those in South Beach – it has been a real hardship. Some commuters have experienced trips in excess of an hour across the Causeway.
 
This closure will be in effect until September 2nd. Some residents have reached out concerned that they don’t see any workers on the Bridge. The work is actually going on under the Bridge – FDOT won’t allow traffic above the Bridge also due to safety concerns.
 
While this is a State road project, our City officials are doing what we can to mitigate the dysfunction that so many are experiencing.
Yesterday I spoke to the FDOT District Six Secretary, Jim Wolfe, and requested that FDOT increase the number and times of off-duty law-enforcement support provided for the project. I am pleased to report that Secretary Wolfe agreed to my request and FDOT will be funding an additional 11 officers to help manage the traffic situation.
I am working with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez to determine the feasibility of suspending the tolls for non-commercial vehicles on the Venetian Causeway until September 2nd. The Venetian is a County road and the City of Miami Beach does not have the authority to lift the tolls.
 
Mayor Gimenez understands the hardship this issue has created and wants to determine the best solution so vehicular traffic can flow more smoothly as an outlet for the congestion caused by the State project.

We will update the community once we have more information on this option.
The photos above show the extent of wear and damage beneath the MacArthur Causeway.
Finally, I am coordinating with my staff and the City administration to ensure we are providing as much information to you as possible.

We have reached out directly to homeowner and neighborhood associations, sent email blasts and daily text alerts, posted on social media, contacted local radio and TV stations, and asked our government partners across the Bay to share the traffic updates as well. Additionally we have deployed electronic message boards around the city to inform motorists, adjusted traffic signalization timing, and modified our police deployment.

You can opt in to our traffic alert system by texting MBtraffic to 888777.
Ultimately we hope that drivers will modify their travel times and/or routes to help reduce some of the bottlenec k. While we will try to mitigate the disruption, and continue to urge the State to accelerate the construction, it is impossible to eliminate it.

I will continue to engage with the State and County and monitor the situation closely so that we adjust our plan as needed. I also welcome your feedback and comments on how we can improve our approach.

You can email me directly at DanGelber@MiamiBeachFL.gov - if you do, please let me know what time and where you observed any issues to help better inform our response.

Thanks for your patience - I am sorry as we work through this situation together.
Dan
A map showing the area of the FDOT construction project