Miami
The idea of a tunnel connecting the Port of Miami to Watson Island was first conceived in the 1980s, to reduce traffic congestion in downtown Miami. Prior to the tunnel’s opening, the only route for Port of Miami traffic was a two-lane drawbridge that emptied out into the streets of downtown Miami. The heavy traffic was considered detrimental to the economic growth of downtown, and a planned project to expand the port’s capacity threatened to increase the volume of trucks coming through. These problems were alleviated, but not solved, by the construction of a six-lane elevated bridge in the early 1990s, which still stands.
The issues would be remedied by the construction of the tunnel, allowing traffic to move between Port Miami and the MacArthur Causeway (which connects to Interstate 95 via I-395) without traveling through downtown.
CSA was part of the PB Americas’ Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) Team for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) providing construction contract management and inspection services.
Following the initiation of operations of the Tunnel, the FDOT contracted CSA for the Operation and Maintenance Oversight phase under a 5-year contract. The CSA Team is providing construction oversight support to the FDOT.