Summer is supposed to provide a slight relief from Miami’s collective traffic headache. The tourist population isn’t as thick as it is in the winter and summer vacation means parents aren’t out slinging kids back and forth to school during your commute.
But, for commuters trying to get to and from South Beach, relief is nowhere in sight. Today, Tuesday, July 31, a brutally long construction project begins on the MacArthur Causeway and it’s not going to be pretty.
Starting tonight at 10pm, not one but two westbound lanes will be closed from Alton Road to Terminal Island. They will remain closed for about two to three weeks—but that deadline could be pushed back due to severe weather or any sort of unforeseen circumstances, such as Godzilla popping out of Biscayne Bay and tipping over all the construction equipment.
This is all part of a restoration of the MacArthur that will last approximately two years. Apparently, a steady stream of ocean water shot upwards from jet skis, personal watercraft and (we suspect) irritated dolphins have led to some serious corrosion along the causeway that needs to be addressed. So that means these current lane closures won’t be the last of your troubles on the bridge. Once these westbound lanes are finished, crews will pack up and start on the eastbound lanes. After that, perhaps they’ll start tossing banana peels at your car like Mario Kart. (We don’t really know how construction works.)
Commuters are urged to take the Julia Tuttle, Venetian Causeway or get a running start and pole vault across Biscayne Bay.
Godspeed, Miami.
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