Miami-Dade County advances historic Ludlam Trail Project with award of design contract for entire 5.6-mile corridor

On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved the design contract for the entire 5.6-mile Ludlam Trial, taking a major step toward realizing one of the County's most anticipated parks and mobility projects.  The Board awarded a professional services agreement to Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., marking the official start of the project's design phase. 

Stretching from SW 80th Street to approximately NW 7th Street along the former Florida East Coast Railway corridor, the Ludlam Trail will transform an underutilized rail corridor into one of South Florida's premier linear parks, creating a safe, connected space for walking, running, bicycling, and outdoor recreation while linking neighborhoods, parks, schools, businesses, and transit throughout central Miami-Dade County. 

"This is a transformational investment in the future of Miami-Dade County," said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. "This vote moves this long-envisioned project from planning to design and reflects our commitment to delivering infrastructure that serves generations to come with first class mobility, recreation and natural beauty."

"For years, residents have advocated for the Ludlam Trail, and today we moved this long-awaited project closer to becoming a reality," said District 6 Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis, whose district includes much of the Ludlam Trail corridor. "This approval provides the momentum needed to move forward, but our work is not finished. I am committed to seeing this project through and ensuring we move decisively from planning to construction.”

The approved contract advances the 30 percent concept plans developed during the Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study into complete construction documents for the full corridor. The comprehensive design will include an 18-foot-wide shared-use bicycle and pedestrian trail, landscaped buffers, lighting, shade trees, seating areas, wayfinding signage, neighborhood and park connections, and other amenities designed to create a safe, accessible, and welcoming recreational corridor. 

Completing the design significantly strengthens the County's competitiveness for transportation and infrastructure funding that will be needed for the construction phase of this project.  

The County has secured nearly $48 million toward the Ludlam Trail, including a recently approved $1.25 million appropriation from the State of Florida  secured through the leadership of  District 115 State Representative Omar Blanco and District 28 State Senator Alexis Calatayud. 

"The Board’s approval represents much more than a design contract," said District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado. “It reflects years of partnership, persistence, and community advocacy that have brought us to this moment. I want to thank the Friends of the Ludlam Trail, whose unwavering leadership and support helped turn this vision into a project that is now moving forward. Together, we're creating a place that residents from across our neighboring communities will be able to enjoy for generations.”

The Ludlam Trail has been decades in the making. Following the abandonment of rail service along the corridor in 2006, Miami-Dade County acquired the property in 2018 to preserve it for public use. Since then, the County has completed environmental studies, developed conceptual plans, coordinated with state and local partners, and secured funding to advance the project. Today's action represents the first investment in the trail's final design and officially moves the project from planning into implementation. 

Public design meetings are anticipated to begin later this year, providing residents and stakeholders with opportunities to help refine the final design before construction begins.

For more information about Ludlam Trail, visit miamidade.gov/ludlamtrail.