Miami-Dade traffic watch: Traffic crawls along Northwest 36th Street near 79th Avenue

An unusual traffic disruption has cropped along Northwest 36th Street, a major thoroughfare for commuters who seek an alternate to the State Road 836 toll road.

The traffic slowdown near the intersection of 79th Avenue is one of several commuter challenges this week along with those on another major thoroughfare, Northeast 125th Street, and three expressways — 112, 826 and 836.

While some drivers believe the new backups on 36th Street and 79th Avenue are the result of a change in traffic-signal timing, county officials say the reason is traffic detours due to ongoing road work on nearby Northwest 25th Street.

Meanwhile, workers this week will begin a roadway project along Northeast 125th Street from Northwest Seventh Avenue to Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami. The project, which will cost $1.5 million, will take about four months to complete. It involves reconstruction of sidewalks, pedestrian ramps as well as repaving.

As for State Road 112, the Airport Expressway, roadwork will disrupt the exit ramp from west 112 to Northwest 36th Street through Sunday from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. each day.

On State Road 826, the Palmetto Expressway, roadwork related to the express lanes project will close all southbound lanes through Thursday at 5 a.m. If the closures need to be rescheduled, alternate dates would be Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day.

On westbound State Road 836, the Dolphin Expressway, the exit ramp to Northwest 12th Avenue will be closed for testing of electronic toll collection equipment Thursday through Saturday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day.

This story was originally published February 9, 2015 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Miami-Dade traffic watch: Traffic crawls along Northwest 36th Street near 79th Avenue."