Village of Key Biscayne residents will have to wait several more years for overdue repairs to the Rickenbacker Causeway while more frequent and strengthening hurricanes threaten the Florida coastline.
The causeway is the only structural link between Key Biscayne and the Miami-Dade County mainland, used daily by thousands of residents and tourists alike.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The bridge leading from Fort Myers to Pine Island, Fla., was heavily damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, as seen here on Oct. 1, 2022.
Heightened awareness of the Bear Cut Bridge’s deterioration became a flashpoint in the recent Key Biscayne mayoral election after Hurricane Ian washed out part of the Pine Island and Sanibel Island causeways in southwest Florida this October.
Segments of the Bear Cut Bridge, one of three key bridges connecting Key Biscayne to Miami, were constructed in 1944. A state inspection in 2017 determined that Bear Cut should be replaced due to “substandard load carrying capacity.” Whether or not it would survive a Category 2 storm is in question.
Meanwhile, the current timeline for a construction overhaul foresees the completion of a Rickenbacker Causeway master plan by Miami-Dade County in 12-14 months, as well as a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study to be completed in two or three years. The PD&E study will determine whether replacement or rehabilitation is the right move for Bear Cut Bridge.
(Miami-Dade County)
Key Biscayne’s Bear Cut Bridge will undergo either major rehabilitation or replacement in seven to 10 years.
Construction is unlikely to break ground until 2026 at the earliest, and would be completed in the next seven to 10 years.
The county’s decision to move forward in search of a contracted study comes nine years after prior rehabilitation of Bear Cut Bridge in 2013 was originally deemed insufficient, setting forth a series of routine repairs to avoid more comprehensive developments at higher costs.
That process, required at least every 10 years, is beginning again next year. Construction is expected to begin in spring with completion slated for fall of 2023, according to a virtual public meeting hosted by the Department of Public Works and Transportation on Nov. 16. The last repairs to the bridge occurred in 2016.
(Miami-Dade County)
The Miami-Dade County Department of Public Works and Transportation will begin routine repairs to Bear Cut Bridge in the spring of 2023.
The six-month project will address bridge corrosion caused by saltwater that was discovered during a 2020 inspection. The repairs will provide joint, bulkhead and beam repairs, bearing restoration and pile jacketing, all of which are expected to cost just under $2.5 million.
Closures will occur during two phases of construction from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. for approximately one and a half months, likely only from Sunday to Thursday. At least one lane of traffic will remain open in each direction at all times. The viability of those repairs should last 10-15 years, by which the overarching plans should already be underway.
At a public works meeting, Ryan Fisher, the county’s manager for highway bridge engineering, said advertisement for the contracted PD&E study would be released in the following weeks.
(Miami-Dade County)
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
Approximately seven months ago, a report by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s office recommended replacement “rather than continued major rehabilitation and repair of the bridge.”
“I know how critically important this causeway is, the roadway, this bridge, to residents and visitors,” Levine Cava said at the public works meeting last month. “So many of you call this your driveway.”
The May report also estimated costs of the potential replacement to be $90 million.
(KBI Photo/Theo Miller)
Hurricane preparedness in the wake of Ian’s devastating impact dominated a mayoral debate between candidates Fausto Gomez and Joe Rasco hosted by the Key Biscayne Independent Oct. 4, 2022.
Key Biscayne’s new mayor, Joe Rasco, questioned the feasibility of that figure in October during a mayoral debate against his then opponent, Fausto Gomez. Rasco said he believes $90 million could fund a flat bridge at best, predicting the village’s needs may require something more dynamic.
Rasco, who was previously elected Key Biscayne mayor in 1998, recently retired as the director of intergovernmental affairs at Miami-Dade County, where he forged a deep well of contacts during his 17-year tenure.
(Biscayne Mayor/JoeRasco.com)
Joe Rasco, Key Biscayne Mayor
He emphasized the PD&E study’s importance during the campaign debate, while also pushing for an expedited process on bridge construction. Repeated attempts by the Biscayne Times to reach Mayor Rasco were ignored.
Key Biscayne has its own master plan for Rickenbacker Causeway that was completed in a conceptual phase this August. The proposal calls for express lanes to be distinguished from “local” lanes, as well as an elevated road, expanded bikeway paths and more.
Moving forward, the county will supposedly work in tandem with the Key Biscayne plan as it creates its own, but in the meantime stakes are high.
District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who attended the virtual meeting last month alongside the mayor and other county staff, said 80% of the questions received by residents during an unsolicited study last year had to do with Bear Cut Bridge.
“We wanted to do something comprehensive on the state of the bridge to give everyone comfort,” Regalado said. “This is one of our most beautiful assets.”