Building Better Communitites

Mayor Pushes for Seaport Tunnel

In his State of the County Address this month, Mayor Carlos Alvarez urged the State of Florida to move forward with the proposed Seaport Tunnel that would link the Port of Miami with the Interstate System.  The Building Better Communities Bond Program would fund $100 million of the estimated $1 billion cost.

Mayor Alvarez called on Florida Governor Charlie Crist to reverse the state's decision to back out of the project that's been on the drawing board for years.
The tunnel is necessary, the Mayor said, to keep the Port of Miami competitive
in the global marketplace.

"The seaport is Miami-Dade's second most important economic engine." Alvarez said.  "It generates nearly 180,000 jobs and more than $17 billion to our local economy.  We need to move this project forward.  If we stand still, we will lose business.  This is an investment in our future."

The Mayor said the project was critical not only to handle the anticipated growth of cargo operations in future years but also to ease growing congestion in downtown Miami due to trucks traffic in and out of the port.  The project would  provide hundreds of new construction jobs providing a boost to the local economy.

"As Florida's economy struggles and discussions of economic stimulus plans abound, it should not be forgotten that the tunnel would create an estimated 600 jobs for our local community."

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