The Orange Bowl game on New Year's Day means a traffic mess. Here’s what to know
The Orange Bowl, in name only, takes over Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium on New Year’s Day for a quarterfinal College Football Playoff game.
The match is between the No. 4 seed Texas Red Raiders and No. 5 seed Oregon Ducks, with kickoff set for noon.
That’s on the field.
The match between motorists and surrounding streets, well, that traffic mess could be as combative.
If you’re going, you likely already have your tickets, transportation plan (driving, rideshare, shuttle or Brightline) and parking passes. Reminder: You’ll need the physical hang-tag parking pass to enter the black, purple, pink and silver lots at the Hard Rock on game day Thursday. Mobile passes will only be accepted at the orange and yellow lots on game day, according to the stadium.
But if you are driving into and out of the stadium — or not interested in going anywhere near the Hard Rock but the route fits into your plans — here’s some of what you ought to know.
Road closures
The following roads will close beginning at 3 p.m., three hours after kickoff, to allow for the rush of thousands of football fans to leave the stadium after the game.
- Florida’s Turnpike 2X ramp northbound.
- Florida’s Turnpike 2X ramp southbound.
- Northwest 199th Street between Northwest 27th Avenue and 14th Court.
Where will the heavy traffic be?
In addition to the turnpike that runs near the stadium, I-95, I-595 and surrounding surface streets including Northwest 199th Street and 27th Avenue will be congested with game day fans heading to the stadium as early as three hours before kickoff. Officials recommend leaving that early to get into your seat in time if you’re driving to the venue.
Brightline shuttles
Brightline’s Orange Bowl 2026 deal pairs passengers with complimentary round-trip shuttle service to and from the stadium from the Brightline Aventura Station. There will be Orange Bowl icons to help riders find the shuttles. Book at www.gobrightline.com.
