How do you walk across 7 lanes of traffic outside the Super Bowl? Now, it’s easy
Just in time for Super Bowl 54, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens has opened two new pedestrian bridges and tunnels to make access to and from the football stadium safer — and faster.
On Friday morning, the city announced the opening of the $15 million pedestrian bridges, named for state Sen. Oscar Braynon and Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert.
Design work on the two new pedestrian bridges — one over Dan Marino Boulevard/Northwest 199th Street on the south side of the stadium, and the other over the Florida’s Turnpike exit ramp on the stadium’s east side — began in August 2018. Construction began in January 2019.
Northwest 199th Street is three lanes in either direction, plus one reversible lane each way.
In an interview with the Miami Herald in July, Miami Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel said the bridges were a key element in his years-long quest to turn the stadium into a top-notch complex.
“We think it will certainly make things safer at the stadium and will also make it easier because pedestrian traffic holds up the vehicular traffic and it takes longer to get out,” Garfinkel said. “Now, cars can flow out freely.”
The $15 million project also includes two newly built tunnels under Don Shula Drive, the stadium perimeter road, that are designed to help lessen the flow of walking fans on the ground level.
The project was done in partnership with Miami Gardens, the Florida Department of Transportation, Condotte America and Bentley Architects & Engineers.
At Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was also attended by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Gilbert said pedestrians should feel safer when using the stadium.
“It allows us to empty the stadium sooner and quicker, and it’s just important. It’s how you incorporate a stadium and large events into an actual city where people live and live their lives,“ Gilbert said, WSVN 7 reported.
Hard Rock Stadium is also used for major concerts, such as recent touring extravaganzas from the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift and an Eagles/Jimmy Buffett package. The stadium also hosts a major tennis tournament and Cirque du Soleil’s big tent shows, like the currently running Alegria, on its grounds.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 1:23 PM.
