8th Street closing for bridge construction.

Maria Serrano/Staff Writer

A section of 8th Street will be closed over the weekend to allow workers to position a 174-foot section of the footbridge which will link Sweetwater with the northern entrance of FIU. The bridge is expected to be completed by January 2019.

The section of Southwest 8th Street between 107th Avenue and 117th Avenue will be closed starting Friday, March 9, at 9 p.m. and will remain closed until 5 a.m. Monday, March 12. The process will involve putting mats down over the road and having the weightload of the bridge be distributed as it is being moved.

According to Kenneth Jessell, the FIU senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer, it will be using the same concept as a house being moved.

“It will go across 8th St., going from the FIU side to the south side of the canal bank,” said Jessell. “[The street] will probably close at the beginning of March 9 at 11 o’clock, that Friday night, and hopefully be open Saturday night. But, you have to be prepared for everything, so we are going to be prepared.”

The goal of the pedestrian bridge is to make transportation easier for students and the community, as a whole. This bridge will include sidewalks and plazas with the purpose to have easy transportation efforts between the city of Sweetwater and FIU.

Jessell said that getting ready for this first span of the bridge is a very important event, which is why a watch party has also been scheduled.

“We are having a watch party on Saturday. If you come through 107th Ave., a flashing sign means that it will be closed, in order to get ready for this span,“ said Jessell.

The total bridge area including plazas will be 320 feet long. However, the bridge itself is 275 feet, which will also feature panther shaped benches, security cameras and a lighting system.

This federal project, however, was a very complicated one, according to Jessell, especially when going across a major highway, SW 8th US 41, and going across the canal. In essence, when related to waterway, permits needed to be obtained from different organizations like the South Florida Water Management District.

Isabella Ojeda, a broadcast media junior and student resident at MMC, said she feels relieved about the bridge finally going to be completed.

“I live on campus, but lots of my friends that live in other buildings walk over and cross the street all the time. It makes me feel so much better knowing that the necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safety of our students,” said Ojeda.

The timeline for this project has lasted several years, and is not as overnight as its construction. In 2014, the process began, then in 2016 the design was done and finally on March 1, 2017, ground construction began.

In addition, there has been a drastic change to the initial plan, which is moving the bridge 11 feet to the north, more into the city of Sweetwater.

“It was crucial to move the bridge up, so the express bus lane could go right under the bridge. Although it was never in the plan of Miami Dade transit–but unless they would have moved the bridge it could have never happened. This will give a dedicated lane for express buses. However, FIU was very supportive of that change,” said Jessell.

The move was not so much a problem, according to Jessell, and was actually was an improvement.

“This added some very unique lighting to the project. We also revised the staircase on the northside in Sweetwater. So, this staircase will go east and west instead of just east. They were all an enhancement to make it a better bridge,” said Jessell.

The bridge is just one part of a three part project. Student Media previously reported on Feb. 22, 2017 that the other parts–the Informed Travel Program and Applications (ITPA), as well as the community transit will go hand in hand.

The ITPA costed $2,373,707 in order to create the technology for smart parking and smart transit.

“There will be an app for students, so they know where vehicles are. It will help you get to campus fairly easily, in terms of telling you about any problems with traffic. It will also help you in advance with parking garages and eventually with parking spots,” said Jessell.

The last part of the bridge, the Community Transit, costs $241,335–for established transit vehicles that run between FIU’s main campus and FIU’s engineering center.

“The biggest part of that, was to repair and rebuild two vehicles that we already had. A trolley and circulator bus. Both of those will be repaired by engineering students, in conjunction, with faculty,” said Jessell. “That service will be starting sometime in April.”

The overall project with the bridge, walkways, plazas, ITP and Community Transit costs $19,391,196. The bridge in itself is approximately $12 million. The total received was $11,397,120 from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has additionally provided funding through the Florida Department of Transportation, since their initial $11.4 million grant, also known as the Tiger Grant. This was to expand the plaza. In addition, they also covered the cost of construction associated with moving the bridge 11 feet north.

The total amount from both departments was $13,671,122. However, FIU contributed $3,729,013 and Sweetwater contributed $1,991,06 for funding.

Some students believe that this sum of money is too much for a bridge.

“In my opinion, that is a waste of money. They should invest that kind of money in student and  campus security or into minority support groups within the university, given the recent tragedies,” said Gabriela Rodriguez, a journalism senior.

Jessell said that student fees were not a part of the bridge payment.

Initially, the entire project, which includes the bridge, the ITPA and the community transit was expected to be completed by Summer 2018, but because of bridge construction delays, the project is expected to be completed by early January 2019, according to Jessell.

Lastly, FIU will be putting a roof over the bridge and still planning on putting panther benches. Although the roof doesn’t cover all of the 32-foot wide base of the bridge, where people will walk, there is already a canopy.

“The canopy is 16-feet wide, so about half of it is fully covered,” said Jessell. “It wasn’t necessary to cover the whole thing because most of the time we have nice weather, and covering the whole thing would have significantly increased the overall cost.”

Improvements will also be made to the entrances of MMC and to the 109th avenue area in Sweetwater. According to Jessell, it is all happening at the same time. In mid-March, the walkways and plaza will begin improvements.

“I am very very excited, I am definitely planning on using it. To me, this is a signature bridge that will be the gateway to University City [Sweetwater].” said Jessell. “This is the great partnership between the city of Sweetwater and FIU. It will be amazing!”

1 Comment on "8th Street closing for bridge construction."

  1. I think this is a bad idea.

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