Sunny Isles Beach residents can return to the city at noon Tuesday after Irma

Weary residents who evacuated before Hurricane Irma can return to Sunny Isles Beach at noon Tuesday, city officials announced.

Mayor George “Bud” Scholl said it will be a general opening and residents won’t have to show identification in an effort to avoid a major traffic jam.

“The traffic will be backed up anyway because we don’t have traffic lights but we’ve got police at every intersection,” Scholl said.

The city will have a curfew in place from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday and any residents that try to enter during curfew hours will have to present identification.

The waterfront city, lined with high rises and condo buildings, was placed under an evacuation order by Miami-Dade County last week ahead of the storm.

Downed power lines and sand covered much of Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles after the storm hit. As in Miami Beach, residents who tried to cross over the bridge to the city on Monday were stopped by police.

Scholl said FPL crews worked to clear Collins on Monday and removed the last live power line Tuesday morning.

“They probably got about five days worth of work done in one day,” Scholl said.

Police also escorted business owners to their stores so they could stock up food and prepare for residents to come back.

Sunny Isles and the other towns and villages along across the Intracoastal Waterway mostly started to reopen for residents Tuesday morning. Miami Beach residents were allowed to return starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Sunny Isles Beach residents can return to the city at noon Tuesday after Irma."