Since 2008, the Miami-Dade Metropolitan
Planning Office has been noticing how the traffic on
Doral Boulevard (Northwest 41st Street) has been increasing and causing
significant bumper-to-bumper traffic. This is why the Doral City Council is now eager to solve the traffic
problems caused by box trucks at one of Doral’s main intersection. For 2017, they have approved
several construction projects to provide their citizens with a nicer city to
drive in.
One of these projects is building a
flyover ramp from Northwest 117th Avenue to the northbound side of the Florida
Turnpike. The project will be held by Florida Turnpike Enterprise. This will give heavy trucks direct
access to the Turnpike.
Moreover, the council has also
agreed on building a pedestrian bridge above Northwest 41st Street. This is in
an attempt to connect both halves of Turnpike Trail: north and south. Also, on 117th Avenue, a slip ramp for
local traffic will be constructed.
The projects have a total cost of
$15.6 million. However, they agreed on Florida Turnpike paying 12.4 million,
while Doral will only pay $3.2. Mayor Luigi Boria said: “A $3 million
investment that brings more than $12 million in infrastructure and traffic
relief? That’s a good deal.”
According to Joan Shen, the city’s
transportation adviser, Doral
Boulevard will benefit a lot from this project, since it will provide people
direct access to the Turnpike, will eliminate trucks from Doral’s three main
avenues (which are the main reason why traffics flow slows down), and will
definitely lower the traffic.