An 18-month project to widen the Shula Expressway (SR 874) from four to six lanes between Kendall Drive and the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) was scheduled to begin Oct. 26 at an estimated cost of $46.4 million.
A special public information meeting will be conducted on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Salvation Army Miami Sunset Corps/Church, 8445 SW 72 St., during which Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) representatives will answer project questions on a one-on-one basis with the public.
Repaving and re-striping of travel lanes was scheduled to commence on Oct. 26 and continue nightly, from 9 p.m. through 5:30 a.m., until Thursday, Nov. 10, when the contractor will begin tree and shrub removal for roadway work in areas not impacted by a noise wall.
By the second week in November, pile driving is scheduled to begin for a foundation that will rebuild the bridge over SW 87th Avenue.
Project improvements are designed to increase the capacity of SR 874’s mainline by adding an additional lane southbound (from SR 826 to SW 88th Street) and an additional lane northbound, from the Snapper Creek Expressway (SR 878) north to the Palmetto Expressway.
Constructing noise walls adjacent to reconstructed areas and upgrading both lighting and drainage systems are part of the project with noise wall construction due to get underway by December.
The new link is one of several MDX projects designed to improve the Shula Expressway between Bird Road and the Homestead Extension to Florida’s Turnpike (HEFT).
Currently scheduled for completion by 2012 is the six-laning of the Shula Expressway from SW 117th Avenue to Kendall Drive and rebuilding the Killian Parkway (SW 104th Street) interchange at a cost of approximately $68 million.
Construction of the new segment of the Shula between Kendall Drive and the Bird Road (SW 40th Street) interchange, now underway at a cost of $46.4 million, is scheduled for completion by spring/summer 2013.
Daily construction activities on the newest Shula link “will be scheduled to minimize impacts of noise and traffic during peak hours for residents and commuters,” according to an MDX announcement.
For inquiries or details, MDX can be contacted at 305-860-3782 or by email at 87409@mdxway.com.
