October 2021
State decision looms
on New River train crossing
Downtown future hinges on choice of bridge or tunnel
 
Regional planners are finalizing plans to create an enhanced commuter rail service to reduce traffic on our highways between Miami and West Palm Beach. That would add 35 to 40 more trains, especially during peak commuter times, to the tracks.
 
Avoiding I-95 at rush hour or any hour sounds like a good idea, right?
 
Perhaps, except when you survey the route, then you realize the bridge over the New River in Fort Lauderdale would remain locked in a down position for hours upon hours. This has our multibillion-dollar marine industry, a key economic engine for our community, extremely concerned – and rightfully so.
 
 
Trains eight stories in the air. Can you imagine that?
 
We have spent years getting our downtown back on track. Yet this high-rise bridge would slice right down the middle of the area, passing hard beside the iconic structures that are finally beginning to shape our skyline. The bridge would even run smack up against the new government building we are planning with the county.
 
More than that, this bridge would become a social wall, permanently cementing that racial divide between neighborhoods whose scars still remind our community of its sadly divided past. And our historic district? It would be, well, history with trains constantly overhead.
It is not enough to simply say “no” to this bridge. The greatest challenges often time allow us to find the most innovative solution. That’s what we have done. This City Commission and many experts in the transportation world believe that the best alternative would be a tunnel.
 
Not only would it resolve the concerns I’ve mentioned, it would also provide relief from those annoying traffic jams at Davie, Broward and Sunrise boulevards since the trains would travel under those streets.
 
A tunnel is a viable and realistic option. The problem is that FDOT is playing fast and loose with the facts and is trying to scare everyone into believing we have no choice but to build a bridge.
 
FDOT estimates a bridge would cost between $460 million and $700 million, whereas they say a tunnel would cost as much as $3.8 billion. They argue a tunnel is so expensive that it would never be built even with state and federal assistance.
 
But their numbers simply are not accurate.
 
Over the past couple months, I have engaged in discussions with numerous engineering and construction firms with a wealth of experience building tunnels.
 
One of the first companies we asked was Elon Musk’s The Boring Co. Musk cut the cost of space flight substantially and is now doing the same with terrestrial transportation. They found FDOT’s costs extraordinarily high, and the Florida East Coast Railroad’s own infrastructure chief left with an open mind to tunneling.
 
Some have challenged the long-term experience of Musk’s firm in a project of this scope. So, I took my investigation further.
 
I met with Ghella S.p.A., an Italian construction company that has been building train lines and digging tunnels since the middle of the 19th century. They’ve tunneled under the Colosseum in Rome, beneath the harbor in Sydney and through the European Alps. I also met with associates of FCC Construction, a Spanish firm founded at the start of the 20th century that has built tunnels in Madrid, Toronto, Saudi Arabia and Peru.
 
Their conclusions – as well as other firms’ – confirmed those of The Boring Co. The estimates we have obtained for a tunnel range from $500 million to $1.5 billion. That is certainly much more realistic than FDOT’s stratospheric price of $3.8 billion. 
Why is FDOT so insistent on building a bridge and trying to distort the cost of a tunnel — and even refuse to accept the cost projections of these long-experienced contracting firms? Who knows. But the facts are what they are, and I promise you that there will be no bridge tearing our city apart so long as I remain your mayor.
 
Anywhere one looks, cities across the nation are embracing new urbanism, taking back their communities and tearing down bridges and highways that created unnatural divisions. Boston is just one example of this. Why would we ever think of going the opposite direction?
 
FDOT’s decision could come by January. So, I need your help. Please write to FDOT’s district secretary, Gerry O’Reilly, and tell him that you support a tunnel and not a train bridge through downtown. He can be reached at gerry.oreilly@dot.state.fl.us. 
Other updates
 
The downtown-to-beach tunnel project: The City Commission took a big step forward recently on our other tunnel project – a transit loop using dedicated electric vehicles to connect downtown and the beach. We accepted the unsolicited proposal from Musk’s The Boring Company to construct a 2.2-mile system.
 
This alternative method to get to and from the beach will lessen traffic chokeholds on key east-west routes and gridlock endured by the neighborhoods of the Las Olas Isles and Colee Hammock. The decision gives staff the go-ahead to review the legal, financial and technical aspects of the proposal.
 
We hope this could be the start of a larger network that links to other major destinations across the metropolitan area. A partnership with Musk could really reshape how we think about addressing congestion. It’s a cheaper and faster option than anything being considered across the region.
 
Community Arts Park: The City Commission has also agreed to move forward with a game-changing opportunity for our downtown – the development of the long-promised new park in growing Flagler Village.
 
As we team up with a private partner, the city will preserve the full 2 ¾ acres of green space we promised residents, while at the same time allowing for an iconic cultural center and food emporium designed by world-renowned architect Michael Palladino.
 
The cultural center would feature a venue for entertainment acts as well as space for art exhibits, while the food emporium would have restaurants, fresh food markets and shops. It’s an exciting plan that I hope can be finalized by November.
 
Infrastructure: The city recently celebrated the completion of our most significant infrastructure project in decades – the installation of a new 7-mile sewer pipe to replace the brittle and aging one that was the cause of numerous breaks.
 
We used two contractors and innovative drilling techniques to finish the project in just 18 months when a project of this magnitude normally can take three years. The new line is the result of a $65 million investment in our underground utilities that will allow the city to provide reliable wastewater service to our residents for decades to come.
 
This is just the beginning of our commitment to continue to respond to the needs of our community.
 
We will soon move forward with a new water plant to provide safe drinking water for generations to come, and our city will finally address the dangerous flooding episodes brought on by heavy rains and rising sea levels with a new $160 million initiative.
 
We are indeed the city with a future, and the best is yet to come.

Yours,


Dean
Mayor Trantalis attends the swearing-in ceremony for Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Larry Scirotto with members of the Commission and Chief Judge Jack Tuter.
Mayor Trantalis kicks off the 2021 Mercedes-Benz Corporate Run downtown.
Mayor Trantalis meets with the state's Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, to discuss state issues important to Fort Lauderdale.
Mayor Trantalis helps recognize Suits, Stilettos & Lipstick -- Dr. Elizabeth King's annual conference for women executives.
Mayor Trantalis helps to break ground on 160 Marina Bay on Isle of Venice Drive.
Mayor Trantalis speaks with participants of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, during a tour of Fort Lauderdale.
Mayor Trantalis commemorates 9/11 with police union president Brandon Diaz and Commissioners Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen.
Mayor Trantalis and Commissioner Sorensen participate in the 9/11 anniversary ceremony at DRV PNK Stadium.
Mayor Trantalis, members of the Navy League and city staff meet with the command of the USS Fort Lauderdale to discuss plans to commission the ship next summer at Port Everglades. 
Mayor Trantalis and Commissioner Sorensen recognize the Fort Lauderdale Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for being named as the 2021 Florida CERT Team of the Year.
Mayor Trantalis celebrates the 10th annual Brazilian Festival, now held on Fort Lauderdale's beachfront.
Mayor Trantalis tours downtown's newest office space, The Main Las Olas, with members of Stiles Corp.
Mayor Trantalis tours The Parker with its chief executive officer, Kelley Shanley, on the day of the ribbon-cutting marking completion of the playhouse's renovation.
Mayor Trantalis, city officials and members of the Community Court gather to mark the retirement of longtime FLPD Officer Sandi Downs-Keesling.
Mayor Trantalis and German Consul General Andreas Siegel meet ahead of Fort Lauderdale's Sister-City anniversary with Duisburg, Germany.
Mayor Trantalis helps cut the ribbon to the new Madelaine Halmos Academy, located at the Jack & Jill Children's Center.
Mayor Trantalis helps activate Fort Lauderdale's signature infrastructure project, the new 7-mile redundant sewer line, with Commissioners Sorensen and Glassman.
Mayor Trantalis addresses the crowd at the FL March for Reproductive Freedom.
Mayor Trantalis recognizes Sunshine Cathedral with a proclamation for its 50-year anniversary.
Mayor Trantalis and the Chamber of Commerce celebrate the careers of Steve Hudson and Bertha Henry.