MIAMI – City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez toured the progress made on the construction of the Underline Tuesday -- a project that will turn the land below Miami’s MetroRail into a 10-mile park spanning from the Miami River to Dadeland South Station.
“It should be open in the fall, sometime in October, hopefully,” Suarez said. “It has a beautiful garden, a butterfly garden, and it’s going to have exercise equipment.”
At a cost of $16 million per half-mile for the Brickell Backyard portion and $12 million per mile for the remaining portions, the project is a collaboration between the city, county and the Florida Department of Transportation.
The mayor said the project is close to being fully funded, but not quite there yet as fundraising efforts continue for the area aimed to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and create over 120 acres of open space with restored natural habitats.
The Underline will provide a walkable and bikeable corridor and is being built in eight phases.
Construction of Phase 1, which started in December 2018, is what is expected to be completed this fall.
“We feel post-COVID, when people feel comfortable to go out, it’s going to be one of the most trafficked areas of our city akin to The High Line and the Atlanta BeltLine,” Suarez said.
When completed, the park will feature not only butterfly gardens and exercise equipment, but also playgrounds, basketball and volleyball courts, soccer fields, picnic areas, dog parks and more.