Dollars Shower On Miami For Transit And Airport Improvements

Miami FL

15 February, 2022

10:49 AM

Description

By Bianca Marcof, Miami Times Staff Writer, the Miami Times Miami-Dade County is receiving $1.2 billion in federal aid that will go towards long-overdue repairs for its airports and public transportation. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson was joined by 30 elected officials Friday morning at the Brownsville Metrorail Station to unveil an $18 billion check to the state provided by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Wilson co-sponsored the bill as a senior member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "It is the largest federal investment in passenger trail since the creation of Amtrak and it is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system," Wilson said. "It creates jobs, jobs, jobs. And as your Democratic congresswoman, I made certain that Miami-Dade, Broward, and our entire state got their fair share." Of Florida's total $18,661,120,000 in funding, Miami will receive $1,274,907,786 for public transit and the Miami International and Opa-locka Executive airports. Broward County will receive $32,783,431 for its Fort Lauderdale Airport. "It is such an honor and privilege to be here with this incredible group of people who know how important this bill is, how important this money is to our future, to our community," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. "We need this investment. We need to fix our bridges, our water, our broadband, our housing — our transit — Yes, right here. At this great, great station in Brownsville. We need to fix these things. And we need those good jobs that come with that money too." "We're excited about this funding. It allows us to do things that accelerate projects and initiatives that we otherwise would not have been able to do," said Eulois Cleckley, the new director and CEO of the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works. He said that the department plans to use the funding to make major upgrades to the 40-year-old Metromover system. Oftentimes, there are issues with communications and delays due to the system so it needs a complete overhaul. The funding will also be used to accelerate maintenance on the existing Metrorail, citing Brownsville's station as an example. He called for changes in infrastructure to make it more ADA accessible for people with disabilities and to fix issues with escalators and elevators. Cleckley said that bus shelters must also be upgraded to make sure that "passengers have the highest quality of service while they're waiting to take that transit in order for them to get to where they need to go." Expect extended coverage in this week's Miami Times. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.