Does the Golden Glades give you road rage? New highway ramp opens key connection
One of Miami’s most maddening crossroads has become easier to navigate.
The Golden Glades Interchange — the infamous “Spaghetti Bowl” that injects some road rage into all of us during our daily drive — rolled out a direct path from the Palmetto Expressway to Interstate 95 in North Miami-Dade. The new route, which opened last month, comes just in time for World Cup matches in June and July at nearby Hard Rock Stadium.
The ramp connecting the eastbound Palmetto, also known as State Road 826, to northbound I-95 is part of a seven-year Golden Glades reconstruction project. The $1 billion undertaking aims to streamline traffic and reduce reliance on local streets by rebuilding roads, widening lanes and making new flyover ramps.
The Golden Glades has seemed under construction since the dawn of time. But for this project, construction on the interchange began in March 2024 and is expected to be completed in fall 2031.
“This project extends far beyond one ramp; it’s a full transformation of one of South Florida’s most critical transportation hubs,” said Manny Espinal, the Florida Department of Transportation’s construction project manager for District 6, which oversees state road projects in Miami-Dade County.
The interchange connects four major roadways in Miami-Dade County — I-95, the Palmetto Expressway, Florida’s Turnpike and State Road 7.
The new ramp marks a “major milestone” for the overall Golden Glades improvement project, giving drivers direct access to northbound I-95 from the Palmetto Expressway without having to meander through local streets, Espinal said.
“This eliminates the need to navigate Northwest Seventh Avenue or Northwest 167th Street just to reach the interstate, reducing weaving, merging and congestion in one of the busiest areas of the region,” he said.
Over 400,000 vehicles pass through the Golden Glades every day, and with the upcoming World Cup games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens attracting thousands of international visitors, “regional traffic demand will increase significantly,” Espinal said.
The ramp was completed in about two years — and over five years ahead of schedule, Espinal said in an email.
“Opening the ramp ahead of schedule ensures that both residents and visitors will experience smoother travel not only during the World Cup but well into the future,” Espinal said.
If you pass through the Golden Glades to and from work each day — and mutter curse words to yourself along the way — note the progress amid the barricades and cranes: 17 of the 34 new bridges carrying traffic over roadways and water, such as the Biscayne Canal, during the construction are up and running.
And by the end of June, four lanes of I-95 will shift to a new roadway to allow the center section of the interstate to be rebuilt, the department said. And by the end of summer 2026, the exit ramp from northbound I‑95 to Northwest 151st Street will reopens, according to the DOT.
To get the work done, expect continued lane closings and traffic shifts during off-peak and overnight hours.
And that means more headaches for drivers.
Drivers can keep tabs of Golden Glades construction and improvements at Go-ggi.com and @GoGGI_FDOT on X.
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 3:32 PM.
