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Special Feature continued

additional traffic on Eisenhower and to ensure the incoming The County has issued a solicitation for final design of the
queuing capacity of the Eisenhower security checkpoint is bypass road. The County should be selecting a firm in the
not reduced. New lanes are also being added to the north next month and they start work in July, which is the
of Spangler Blvd/24th Street. There are currently no plans beginning of the State’s next fiscal year. Construction work
to relocate either of the relevant security checkpoints to on the road would not start until 2023 due to the time it
accommodate the new road takes to do design and then obtain permits. In the meantime
and to accelerate the project, the County separated out from
The County is also working with FDOT to reconfigure the
the project the widening of Eisenhower Blvd to
intersection of Federal Highway and Spangler Blvd/24th
Street in such a way as to separate incoming Port truck accommodate new lanes designed to handle the bypass
road traffic. The County is working with FPL on an
traffic onto Miami Road and away from other vehicles. The
road and its intersections are being designed and traffic undergrounding project to move their light poles, which is
necessary as they sit where the new roadway needs to go.
light cycles will be programmed to allow for a maximum
amount of continuous flow on the bypass road. The County hopes to start work on widening the road in
2021. The project is slated to be completed in 2024. Per
The new road will be a secure corridor through the Port that the updated DRI, the convention Center will not receive it
will not allow drivers access to the rest of the Port. Drivers final Certificate of Occupancy until the bypass road is
will not be required to stop at any Port security checkpoints substantially completed.
to access the bypass road.
It has not been decided if the bypass road will allow for Alan J. Cohen
truck traffic. That decision will be made jointly by the Assistant County Administrator
County and the City of Fort Lauderdale but the City will
have final say.

20 rio vista civic association • www.riovistaonline.com