Ludlam Trail has cost Miami-Dade taxpayers $42M. Where is it? | Opinion

Miami-Dade taxpayers have spent $42 million on the Ludlam Trail and have virtually nothing to show for it. Nearly a decade after the county approved the project, the trail can’t be used by residents and there isn’t even a final design. But even more frustrating is the silence from the county about when construction will begin.

More than 10 years have passed since the project was approved. Taxpayers deserve a clear accounting of where the money has gone, who will finish the project and when residents will finally be able to use it.

The plan to convert the six-mile abandoned rail corridor into a landscaped trail for runners and cyclists has enjoyed bipartisan support since commissioners approved it in 2015. Funding followed, and the county even held a groundbreaking ceremony in 2021.

Five years later, that groundbreaking ceremony looks more like a photo opportunity than the beginning of a public works project.

County officials say they can’t publicly comment, telling the Miami Herald, it’s because of a “cone of silence” rule about pending contract awards. But that explanation falls short. The rules don’t prevent officials from explaining how $42 million has been spent or announcing a completion date.

To make matters worse, the county selected a winning bidder to design the trail a year ago, but according to the Herald, no contract has been signed and nothing has been sent to the county commission for approval. That’s a year of apparent inaction.

The issue is bigger than the Ludlam Trail alone. It’s a test of whether Miami-Dade can deliver on a significant promise to taxpayers.

The Underline offers a clear contrast. It was a longer, more complex and more expensive park project, approved around the same time as the Ludlam Trail. It’s expected to be completed later this year.

Managed by the county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Underline transformed nearly 10 miles beneath Metrorail into parks, gardens, athletic spaces and public gathering areas. Miami-Dade has already proven it can successfully deliver an ambitious trail project when it’s properly managed.

Along the Ludlam corridor, private developers have already finished their assigned segments of the trail; it is the county’s own portion that remains stalled.

The Ludlam Trail deserves the same level of competence and accountability as the Underline.

The county should release a comprehensive public plan that includes a realistic construction schedule with key project milestones, an explanation for the prolonged delay and regular public progress reports. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to file public records requests or corner officials at commission meetings to learn the status of a project they’ve already funded.

As former South Miami mayor and former state legislator Julio Robaina told the Herald, “It’s not brain surgery.” The county has the money, the public support and a proven model for success with the Underline. What it lacks is accountability and urgency.

Residents have waited long enough for Ludlam Trail to be built. They deserve more than a fenced-off rail corridor and a ceremonial groundbreaking. They deserve a finished trail — and answers about why it still doesn’t exist.