Roads, Bridges and Canals

The Road, Bridge and Canal Maintenance Division maintains approximately 5,500 miles of dedicated public roads by performing the following services:

• Pothole repair
• Elimination of vertical separations (tripping hazards) on sidewalks
• Elimination of drop-offs at the edge of the traveled way with either asphalt or select fill
• Guardrail repair
• Pavement repair
• Drain cleaning and repair
• Replacing missing drain covers
• Street sweeping along roadways with curb and gutters
• Stormwater pump station maintenance

Maintenance for the entire road system within Miami-Dade County is performed by several additional government agencies: 

• The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is responsible for state roads such as US-1, SR 441, and the Florida Turnpike.
• The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority is responsible for the operation and maintenance of five major expressway facilities in Miami-Dade County:
  • SR 112 – Airport Expressway
  • SR 836 – East-West (Dolphin) Expressway
  • SR 874 – South Dade (Don Shula) Expressway
  • SR 878 – Snapper Creek Expressway
  • SR 924 – Gratigny Parkway

Individual city, town or village governments are responsible for the majority of roads within their respective municipal limits. Depending on the location, homeowners’ associations and/or individual property owners may also maintain private roadways.

The County operates eight movable bridges (drawbridges) and approximately 195 vehicular or pedestrian bridges by providing the following services: 

• Movable bridge operation, 24 hours/day 
• Mechanical, electrical and structural maintenance and repairs 

To report concerns with county bridges, call 311 or submit a service request. 

• 24 hours prior to the anticipated arrival of tropical storm force winds (39 mph or higher) Miami-Dade County and FDOT begin the Bridge Lock-down process to secure the drawbridges over the Miami River and over the Intracoastal Waterway. This process takes approximately eight hours to complete and must be accomplished during daylight hours prior to the anticipated arrival of tropical storm force winds. The purpose of the lock-down is to preserve the structural integrity of the drawbridges. 
• During the lock-down process, the bridges are closed, power is turned off, traffic gates are removed, the control houses are secured and the bridge operators and maintenance personnel are sent home to ensure their safety. The drawbridges cannot be re-opened without reversing the above procedure. 
• Drawbridges over the Miami River will be closed sequentially starting from the westernmost bridge (Tamiami Bridge) to the easternmost bridge (Brickell Bridge), upstream to downstream. The drawbridges will re-open in the opposite sequence as soon as tropical storm winds subside to 38 mph or less, the bridges are checked for structural damage and the Captain of the Port approves the opening of the waterways. 

Status of the bridges pre and post storm can be found on the County’s Emergency website, by calling 311, or by following @GoMiamiDade on Twitter.

The County maintains approximately 168 miles of secondary canals which discharge into the South Florida Water Management District’s primary canal system by providing the following services and activities: 

• Control of aquatic weeds and woody vegetation 
• Inspection, maintenance and cleaning of culverts 
• Removal of floating debris and other obstructions