Last night, the Mayor and Council held a Special Council Meeting to discuss new developments related to the SW 87 Avenue Bridge. While the Village Council has always opposed this County-led project, they recently learned that MCM, the contractor hired by Miami-Dade County to build the bridge, was the same contractor who was hired to build the Florida International University (FIU) Bridge that collapsed on March 15, 2018, killing six people and injuring ten.

After welcoming dignitaries, county staff, and residents, Mayor Karyn Cunningham explained that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss serious concerns related to community safety and to get more information about the County's process for selecting the contractor and the protocols in place for assuring the quality of their work. "We are not here to discuss whether or not the bridge project is moving forward. We're here to discuss concerns about public safety.", said Mayor Cunningham addressing the audience.

Village Manager Nick Marano proceeded with a presentation detailing the Village's thorough review of the SW 87th Avenue bridge project and related findings, noting that the project represents a significant investment for taxpayers to the tune of $5.639 million for construction alone. Additionally, the contract was awarded in February and the contractor has already brought forward a significant change order to the county for approval. "Recent developments have raised serious concerns about the project's execution and coupled with the contractor's history has prompted our administration to launch a thorough review.", explained Manager Marano. Mr. Marano also explained that the Village goals were first, to provide transparency about the current state of the project and the concerns identified, and second, to propose a path forward to ensure the safety of our residents. To that extent, the Manager shared the following Village recommendations to the county:

• The County must seriously reconsider whether the MCC program is the right vehicle for this bridge project. Perhaps a more specialized procurement process would better serve our needs.
• Given the concerns about the bidding process, a truly competitive process could yield better terms for our community and ensure we're partnering with the most qualified contractor.
• If the County does proceed with MCM, we need a comprehensive safety plan that goes above and beyond standard requirements. We should also implement increased oversight measures, possibly including third-party inspections throughout the construction process.
• The proposed change order requires the County to perform a more detailed review. We recommend bringing in independent engineering and cost estimation experts to review changes orders from all contractors.

Following the Manager’s remarks, a representative of Miami-Dade County gave a brief presentation showing the timeline of the SW 87 Avenue Bridge project from its initial advertisement for bids in 2022 to the current state of the construction process, which is still in its early stages as the site is cleared and utilities and drainage are addressed.

After public comments and questions from many of the meeting’s attendees, Mayor Cunningham said that her hopes were to pause the bridge project long enough to engage in further dialogue with the County, get the answers to important questions, and take all necessary steps to safeguard Palmetto Bay residents and visitors. Meanwhile, we will continue to provide updates on this important topic whenever new information is available.

If you missed the meeting, you can still watch it by clicking the link below.