NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – Parents, students and drivers were frustrated early Tuesday morning after construction at Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami caused major delays near campus.
The delays were caused by Miami-Dade County’s roadway improvement project, which began this week.
A FIU spokesperson told Local 10 News that the project will add a third lane of traffic in each direction on Northeast 151st Street near Biscayne Boulevard and will include a dedicated bicycle lane.
The project also will elevate the roadway to mitigate flooding.
A Local 10 News crew was around the height of the traffic between 6:45 and 7:20 a.m., near the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and Northwest 151st Street, where drivers were honking their horns for the majority of the morning after having only one lane to drop-off or pick up students.
The traffic situation affected drop-offs and pick-ups at five schools that include the Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Sr. K-8 campus and its high school, the MAST @FIU, and FIU’s North Campus.
One parent told Local 10 News that it took them an hour after dropping off their child to get back to Biscayne Boulevard, which is only one mile away.
“They got the whole summer to do this and they do it now with classes started? It’s unbelievable,” said one parent.
“Two hours in traffic, three hours in traffic, it’s horrible. It’s before school and after school and I can’t do it,” another parent added.
After the county received a countless number of complaints, officials announced that the project will be put on hold until they can review and update the traffic plan.
FIU released a statement regarding the traffic delays:
A few hours after Tuesday morning’s traffic situation, FIU sent Local 10 News another statement saying the project has been suspended by county officials after causing significant traffic delays.
Local 10 News also heard from the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works, who also released a statement Tuesday afternoon regarding the traffic delays and inconvenience the construction project has caused.
Miami-Dade County officials said they’re going to do as much as they can to cause as little traffic disruption as possible but acknowledge that it will be impossible to prevent it completely.
They estimate the project will take two years to complete.
County officials will suspend construction and reopen all lanes on Northeast 151st Street as they review and update the Maintenance and Traffic Plan to mitigate delays in the area.
FIU leadership will remain in communication with county officials, as well as officials from the City of North Miami and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.