Construction has started on a $30 million pedestrian bridge after a three-year wait for relief in a congested corridor of South Beach..
Work began in January on the Miami Beach Canopy Bridge passing over the MacArthur Causeway entrance into South Beach, according to David Martin, CEO of Coconut Grove-based development firm Terra.
Construction on the candy-color walkway was expected to start in 2022, but then faced delays due to sewer line complications under the street, Martin said. The bridge will open in the second half of 2026.
The bridge is the final piece of a multi-layered project for development firms Terra, Edgewater-based Crescent Heights and Buena-Vista-ased New Valley. The firms collaborated on the adjacent three-acre, $8 million Canopy Park and the condominium Five Park.
The team hired French artist Daniel Buren — the mastermind behind candy-striped installations such as the Colonnes de Buren/Les Deux Plateaux at the Palis Royal in Paris — to design the bridge.
“The connection to Alton Road is not very bike friendly,” Martin said. “Providing that connectivity so more people can be active, healthy and happy is exciting.”
He says the bridge also “provides a cultural statement for the identity of Miami Beach.”
Of the $30 million cost, about $12 million comes from the city of Miami Beach and the rest from the development partners.
Construction began with utility work, which involves going underground to work on stormwater, sewer and drainage systems. By the summer, the bridge will go vertical.
Traffic delays and street closures may come later in the year and next when the bridge rises.
“We will be coordinating with the city with all of our plans,” he said, “but the number one goal is as little impact as possible.”
Miami Beach will see another Terra project start to come to life later this year.
Martin said he anticipates Terra breaking ground on its 800-room hotel adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center before December. The $600 million Grand Hyatt hotel project will take about three years to wrap.
