Broad Causeway bridge reopens, draw bridge not working after ‘locking’ malfunction
By Michelle Marchante and
Howard Cohen
The Broad Causeway Bridge reopened to traffic Thursday morning after a malfunction briefly left it locked. However, the draw bridge will not be operational for boaters until Friday afternoon.
The causeway shut down slightly after 7 a.m. Thursday as crews worked to fix the bridge’s locking mechanism, said Melissa Cruz, Bay Harbor Islands assistant town manager and finance director.
A text message sent to residents notifying them about the closure early Thursday said the bridge would be closed “until further advised” and that “no east or west bound traffic” would be allowed to pass.
It reopened around 8 a.m.
“It had nothing to do with the structural integrity” of the bridge, said Cruz.
The Broad Causeway is a major artery crossing Biscayne Bay, connecting North Miami on the mainland to northeastern island cities, including Bay Harbor Islands.
Thousands of drivers reportedly cross the causeway on a daily basis. In 2013, more than 21,000 cars crossed the bridge daily, according to Local 10.
The nearly 70-year-old, six-mile-long causeway was declared “structurally obsolete” in a 2013 study by the Florida Department of Transportation. The town of Bay Harbor Islands approved an $11.5 million restoration project in 2014.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect that the bridge has reopened.
Miami Herald staff writer Joey Flechas contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 8:49 AM.
Michelle Marchante covers the pulse of healthcare in South Florida and also the City of Coral Gables. Before that, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, crime, education, entertainment and other topics in South Florida for the Herald as a breaking news reporter. She recently won first place in the health reporting category in the 2025 Sunshine State Awards for her coverage of Steward Health’s bankruptcy. An investigative series about the abrupt closure of a Miami heart transplant program led Michelle and her colleagues to be recognized as finalists in two 2024 Florida Sunshine State Award categories. She also won second place in the 73rd annual Green Eyeshade Awards for her consumer-focused healthcare stories and was part of the team of reporters who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for the Miami Herald’s breaking news coverage of the Surfside building collapse. Michelle graduated with honors from Florida International University and was a 2025 National Press Foundation Covering Workplace Mental Health fellow and a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription
Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment. He started his career in the Features department at the Miami Herald in 1991. Cohen is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Communication.Support my work with a digital subscription
