Think driving to downtown Miami is bad now? Four years of construction starts Monday

Trying to get into or pass through downtown Miami using I-95 sometime in the next four years? Get ready for possible delays beginning June 30.

These delays will be caused by the construction of the “Connecting Miami” project.

The five-year, $802 million reconstruction of I-395, double-decking a section of State Road 836, repaving a stretch of I-95 and building a “signature bridge” over Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami will necessitate lane closures, traffic pattern shifts and detours.

It begins on Sunday night, when the entire southbound I-95 ramp to eastbound I-395 will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m Monday, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

This is only the beginning of closures coming to the ramp so that construction of new bridges and a new mainline I-395 can begin.

Starting July 1, one lane on the southbound ramp will be closed for the next four years. You read that right — it will stay closed until mid-2023. The lane closure will extend to just east of Northwest First Avenue.

In need of a detour to avoid the impending traffic? Here are some directions:

▪ Continue south on I-95, exit at Northwest Eighth Street (Exit 3B)

▪ Turn left on Northwest Eighth Street, continue east on NW Eighth Street

▪ Turn left at Biscayne Boulevard to access the A1A North/Miami Beach ramp

▪ NOTE: I-195 — the Julia Tuttle Causeway — can also be used as an alternate route to access Miami Beach

During the morning of July 2, traffic on the eastbound I-395 ramp connector road from east of I-95 to North Miami Avenue will be shifted to the south side of the road.

In order to implement this traffic shift, one eastbound I-395 lane will need to be closed from east of I-95 to Biscayne Boulevard on June 30 and July 1 between 10 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.

The final closure, for now, comes during the night of July 2. The single lane ramp from northbound I-95 to eastbound I-395 will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. the next day.

If you want to avoid the ramp, here is a detour:

▪ Exit at the Northwest Second Street ramp (Exit 2B)

▪ Continue north on Northwest Third Avenue, then turn right on Northwest Eighth Street

▪ Continue east on NW/NE Eighth Street

▪ Turn left on Biscayne Boulevard to access A1A North/Miami Beach

This story was originally published June 28, 2019 at 10:51 AM.