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(Courtesy Miam-Dade County)
Miami-Dade County’s first-ever Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, the South-Dade TransitWay, recently received the prestigious Envision Gold Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI).
This is the Department of Transportation and Public Works’ (DTPW) third Envision award for a public transportation project and the department’s first Gold Envision Award.
Scheduled to open before summer of 2025, the South Dade TransitWay will provide an efficient and quicker BRT option — connecting five municipalities in South Miami-Dade from Homestead to the Dadeland South Metrorail Station.
“This award is a direct result of the outstanding collaboration between DTPW and the county’s Office of Resilience to ensure infrastructure projects are prioritizing sustainability and resiliency,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “I am also incredibly grateful to the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) for their unwavering support as we continue to work towards a world class transit system.
“This achievement recognizes how Miami-Dade County continues to go above and beyond to deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits for our residents now and for years to come,” the mayor added.
The purpose of this award is to foster a dramatic and necessary improvement in the sustainable performance and resiliency of infrastructure. This award is issued as the result of an independent peer-review process conducted and overseen by ISI that has verified the project evaluation.
The evaluation assessed the project’s performance across 60 sustainability criteria addressing a wide range of indicators including: community, quality of life, management, planning, materials, energy, water, environmental impacts, emissions, and resilience.
“With the South-Dade TransitWay, we will deliver Miami-Dade County’s first-ever BRT service which will reduce travel time by as much as 40 percent for commuters connecting from Homestead to Dadeland in peak times,” said Eulois Cleckley, DTPW director and CEO.
“The TransitWay, which includes 14 state-of-the-art and iconic BRT stations, is an outstanding example of DTPW’s determination and ingenuity to accomplish great results.
We are honored to receive the ISI Gold Award.”
In 2017, Miami-Dade County passed a resolution to adopt the Envision sustainable infrastructure framework and rating system for Miami-Dade infrastructure projects. Miami-Dade County’s commitments to the use of Envision have resulted in three Envision-verified projects to date.
In July 2021, the county received an Envision Bronze Award for the Miami-Dade County Dolphin Station Park-and-Ride/Transit Terminal Facility and in June 2020, DTPW received an Envision Silver Award for the Miami-Dade County Tamiami Station Park-and-Ride/Bus Terminal Facility.
“Envision certification is about supporting higher performance through better choices in infrastructure development,” said Patricia Gómez, interim chief resilience officer with Miami-Dade County. “DTPW is leading the way for our county when it comes to Envision certified projects. This facility has so many resilient features that we are proud of, and that will help our residents today and into the future.
“Easy access to reliable, sustainable, and affordable public transportation will help reduce traffic congestion and cut climate pollution. Less crowded roads and cleaner air all add up to a big resilience win,” Gómez added.
“ISI congratulates Miami-Dade County and the members of the Design-Build project team, OHL and Parsons, on this achievement,” said Kristi Wamstad, ISI’s verification director.
“The South-Dade Transitway Rapid Transit Project is a modern, future-ready system that serves the public interest by delivering significant benefits to riders and the communities along the corridor.”
Beginning at the Dadeland South Metrorail station, the TransitWay stretches 20 miles south, connecting the incorporated municipalities of Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Homestead, and Florida City. The project is the first of five rapid corridors to be built as part of the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Program in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust (CITT), and the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO). With the support of these key partners, the South Dade TransitWay Project will enhance connectivity and accessibility to and from the fast-growing communities and future developments along the corridor.
“On behalf of the CITT, we want to congratulate Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works and its partners for being selected to receive the Gold Envision Award. Beyond enhancing connectivity with new and modern stations and electric-battery buses, the South-Dade TransitWay rapid transit project exemplifies how strategic investments in infrastructure can deliver long-term benefits for both the environment and the people who call south Miami-Dade their home,” said CITT chair Robert Wolfarth.
By maximizing mobility to improve corridor carrying capacity, the project will result in improved travel times and reliability with the development of 14 new iconic Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations. In addition, improvements include the rehabilitation of 32 local bus stops, enhanced safety features and other upgrades to further enrich the customer experience. Once complete, the system will provide shorter travel times, level boarding, and pre-paid fares for speedy access among other benefits.
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