Pardon our dust, while we create jobs.

 Eller Drive Overpass

At the east end of I-595, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is building the Eller Drive Overpass to carry vehicles entering Port Everglades over two new rail tracks that will expand into six working tracks for a new Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) rail yard at the Port.   Work also includes reconstructing several ramps of the I-595/US 1/Eller Drive interchange, reconstructing Eller Drive intersections at NE 7th Avenue, NE 14th Avenue and McIntosh Road, installing new railroad tracks and crossing signals, relocating underground utilities, installing a stormwater management system, roadway construction, highway lighting sys tem, landscaping and irrigation. FDOT's $42.5 million Eller Drive Overpass project is expected to be complete in late 2014. 

Status:All lanes in each direction will be shifted north on Eller Drive beginning overnight, Wednesday, May 15. The new traffic pattern will remain in effect until summer 2014. See Eller Drive via 7th Ave. from I-595 and Eller Drive Westbound to 1-595 maps.

All northbound lanes on US 1 turning east into Port Everglades are directed north on US 1 to turn west on SE 30th Street, then south on SE 6th Street to the Eller Drive Extension. From the airport, FLL, the northbound connection into the Port has reopened.

Intermodal Container Transfer Facilty (ICTF)

The new rail yard, called an Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF), will make it possible for cargo containers to be directly transferred between ships and railcars to take an estimated 180,000 truck trips a year off roads by 2029, which will reduce traffic congestion and harmful air emissions.  Drivers who are commonly delayed at the railroad crossing at S.R. 84 and Andrews Avenue will directly benefit because the trains will be put together at Port Everglades instead of at the rail yard on Andrews Avenue.  This ICTF, which will be built and operated by the Florida East Coast Railway, will be the first on-port rail yard in the United States to process both domestic and internationals cargoes.  Florida East Coast Railway is investing $53 million to build and will operate the ICTF. Broward County's Port Everglades Department, which is a self-supporting Enterprise Fund that does not rely on local tax dollars, contributed 42.5 acres of land for the ICTF which is valued at $19 million.

Status: Broke ground on January 17, 2013. Site is currently being clearned and prepared for construction.
 Estimated completion: mid-2014.          

Cruise Terminals 2, 19, 21 and 26 

Construction is substantially complete for a $54 million renovation project to transform four existing cruise terminals -- 2, 19, 21 and 26 --  into modern passenger facilities for more than 30 different Carnival Corporation cruise ships as well as cruise ships from other lines.  All terminals allow embarking and debarking guests to be processed simultaneously, and have separate and larger baggage halls, improved ground transportation areas, covered waiting areas outdoors, expanded processing facilities for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and colorful Florida-inspired artwork. 

Status: All four cruise terminals are operational.  New chairs and other amenities will be arriving throughout the winter. Artwork will be installed during the summer 2013.

McIntosh Road Loop

McIntosh Road in Southport will allow smoother access for trucks to enter the terminal yards with righthand-only turns and expanded staging lanes.Completion is expected by the end of 2013.

Status: McIntosh Loop Road construction is underway with the Phase II portion of work is underway. the asphalt installation for the southbound lanes is completed. Northbound lane work is progressing.

Southport Turning Notch Extension  

The Southport Turning Notch extension project will lengthen the existing deep-water turn-around area for cargo ships from 900 feet to 2,400 feet at the existing depth of 42 feet, which will allow for five new cargo berths.  A critical part of the Southport Turning Notch extension includes replacing 8.7 acres of an existing mangrove conservation easement with a 16.5-acre upland enhancement of approximately 70,000 new mangroves, plants and seeds as well as completing a number of environmental improvements in West Lake Park.  Port officials worked closely with port users, the environmental community, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to develop the plan for the new mangrove habitat.  Broward County, which governs Port Everglades, executed an agreement with FDEP on September 10, 2010 that details the steps required to facilitate the release of the existing 8.7 acres of mangrove conservation area.  The agreement speaks specifically to an expedited permitting process with FDEP in this regard and is the critical path to maintaining the estimated timeline for this project.  The project is currently in the design and permitting phase and construction is scheduled for completion in 2017.

Status: The consultant team, Derose,  has been retained to design the mangrove enhancement area design and related storm water drainage. Project permitting is underway. Bergeron Land Development, Inc. has been selected to construct the enhancement area. The pre-construction and plant growing contract is expected to be finalized  in May 2013.

 Deepening and Widening Navigational Channels

Port Everglades is continuing to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen and widen the Port's navigational channels from 42 feet to 50 feet. The Project calls for deepening and widening the Outer Entrance Channel from an existing 45-foot project depth over a 500-foot channel width to a 57-foot depth with an 800-foot channel width, deepening the Inner Entrance Channel and Main Turning Basin from 42 feet to 50 feet, and widening the channels within the Port to increase the margin of safety for ships transiting to berth.  The total cost is estimated to be $320 million, including a $131 million investment by the Port. A preliminary benefit/cost analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that there will be a $1.56 return for every dollar invested.  Widening and deepening the channel at Port Everglades is projected to create 5,862 construction jobs in the near term and 1,491 regional jobs by the year 2027.

Status: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing its environmental and feasibility studies.  The draft feasibility study is slated to be available for public comment in August 2013.

This project will construct a bypass road that will allow traffic to move through the port without entering security areas and remove the Broward County Convention Center from the secure area of the Port.

Status: Construction for the first phase of the bypass road, which will move the security checkpoint further south on Eisenhower Boulevard, is estimated to begin in the Winter of 2013.

 FLL Runway

Construction of an expanded runway at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is creating traffic changes on US 1.The three northbound lanes and three southbound lanes of US 1 (Federal Highway) have shifted slightly to the east. All three lanes in each direction (six lanes total) remain open. For safety reasons, the speed limit is reduced to 40 miles-per-hour. This lane shift is just north of Griffin Road.

In related traffic changes, 10th Street is open to traffic from U.S. 1 east to SE 7th Avenue. Taylor Road is closed permanently.

Status: Traffic is scheduled to shift back to the newly aligned US 1 in June 2013.