Traffic alert: Miami drivers need to get ready for changes to express lanes on I-95
Update: Installation of the poles on southbound 95 Express was completed on Monday, April 3. Construction on northbound 95 express lanes begins on schedule Sunday, April 9.
Sunday brings the new version of Interstate 395, the highway leading to and from the MacArthur Causeway and South Beach, a bit closer to completion.
That means more construction and changing traffic patterns.
Drivers in the downtown Miami area heading to or from Miami Beach or heading to the Arsht Center for Zoetic Stage’s presentation of “Next to Normal” will have to adapt to a new normal on their route.
“The 95 Express northbound entrance and southbound exit points are being relocated back to their original and permanent location,” said Oscar Gonzalez, the Florida Department of Transportation’s senior community outreach specialist for the project.
On Sunday, April 2, the entrances to the express lanes near Northwest 44th Street are shifting to a permanent location one mile south of Northwest 29th Street.
Here’s what motorists need to know.
Southbound 95 Express Lanes
Installation of plastic poles on the southbound 95 Express lanes begins at 9 p.m. Sunday at the north end and moves south every night until all the poles have been installed to Northwest 29th Street, according to Tish Burgher, communications manager for Florida Department of Transportation’s Miami-Dade and Monroe counties’ district. “This should be finished Thursday morning, April 6, unless there are weather or other delays,” her email said.
To complete the pole installation, the following closures are necessary:
▪ Sunday, April 2, through Wednesday, April 5: All southbound 95 Express lanes will be closed from the Golden Glades Interchange to I-195/SR 112 between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.
▪ Sunday, April 2, through Wednesday, April 5: One southbound general-purpose lane from north of I-195/SR 112 to south of Northwest 29th Street will be closed between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.
Installation of the poles on southbound 95 Express was completed on Monday, April 3, according to the FDOT.
Northbound 95 Express Lanes
Installation of plastic poles on the northbound 95 Express Lanes will begin at 9 p.m. Sunday, April 9, at the north end and move south every night until all poles have been installed to Northwest 29th Street with a completion goal of Thursday morning, April 13.
To complete this portion of the pole installation, the following closures will get underway:
▪ Sunday, April 9, through Wednesday, April 12: All northbound 95 Express lanes will be closed from I-195/SR 112 to the Golden Glades Interchange between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.
▪ Sunday, April 9 through Wednesday, April 12: One northbound general purpose lane from north of I-195/SR 112 to south of Northwest 29th Street will be closed between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.
Caution
“Drivers who miss the entry point for the northbound 95 Express lanes should not cross the double white lines or over the poles as this is dangerous and illegal,” Gonzalez said. “Drivers missing the entry point near Downtown Miami can enter the 95 Express lanes just south of Miami Gardens.”
The complete reconstruction of the old I-395 and the double-decking of the SR 836 approach from the Marlins Stadium and Jackson Memorial Hospital complex is a part of the $840 million I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project that is expected to be ready for use in the summer of 2026.
This story was originally published April 1, 2023 at 2:24 PM.
