Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps Project/EIS

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TAMIAMI TRAIL NEXT STEPS - PHASE 2 UPDATE February 28, 2022

Everglades National Park (ENP) has completed a Memorandum to File to document minor design changes to Phase 2 of the Tamiami Trail Next Steps (TTNS) Project. The design refinements resulted from continued coordination with the Miccosukee Tribe, alterations to stormwater swale design through coordination with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and utility improvements that would benefit residents and businesses on the Tamiami Trail. They include:
• The water quality treatment swale design has been completed. The new design standardizes the swale dimensions along the length of the project, decreases the number of outflow control structures, and improves the stability of the southern slope.
• The Florida Power and Light Co. has provided an updated design for inclusion of underground powerlines into the project footprint.
• The roadway has been redesigned near the Miccosukee Osceola Camp to prevent encroachment into the Camp's informal parking area.

Tamiami Trail, a historic roadway connecting Tampa and Miami, has long been recognized as a barrier that restricts water flows into ENP. This final phase of the TTNS project will work in combination with Phase 1, completed in April 2019, and the Central Everglades Planning Project to improve water conveyance, marsh connectivity, and sheetflow between Water Conservation Area 3A/3B north of Tamiami Trail, and the Northeast Shark River Slough (SRS) of ENP. The reconstructed roadway will also improve roadway stability throughout its 100-year lifespan and provide long-term reliable access to economically and culturally important sites for rural and tribal communities.

Planning and compliance documents for the TTNS project are available in the Documents List at the left side of this page.

Background: The NPS completed the TTNS Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) in 2010 and the Record of Decision (ROD) was published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2011. The selected plan was to add 5.5 miles of bridging to the 1-mile bridge then under construction and raise the balance of the 10.7-mile highway corridor (Alternative 6e in the FEIS).

In 2014, the NPS, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration began collaborating on TTNS implementation. Phase 1 of the project was completed in April 2019 and included 2.3 miles of western bridging in addition to the previously constructed 1-mile eastern bridge completed during the Modified Water Deliveries project.

The NPS and FDOT began the Phase 2 design process in 2019. The Phase 2 plan includes building 60-foot-wide slab bridges to enhance flow at six existing culvert locations; enlarging the swale stormwater treatment system; reconstructing/raising the roadway; adding left-turn lanes to improve traffic safety at the Coopertown and Gator Park commercial sites and the Airboat Association; and improving roadway design and parking at the Miccosukee Tribe's Tigertail and Osceola Camps. FDOT completed a design/build contract for Phase 2 in 2020 and construction is underway. The project is expected to be substantially complete in 2024 and closed out in 2025.

To learn more about the importance of restoring water across Tamiami Trail for Everglades Restoration, see: https://www.nps.gov/articles/tamiami-trail-next-steps.htm

Contact Information

For further information, contact: Amy Renshaw at 305-224-4264

Everglades National Park
Tamiami Trail Next Steps Project
40001 State Road 9336
Homestead, FL 33034-6733