Miami City Commission fund port tunnel

Miami City Commission fund port tunnel The Miami City Commission Thursday approved a $50 million city contribution for the Port of Miami tunnel project, providing the key final portion of the local funding match for the $914 million project.
   The tunnel has been a hot-button issue in South Florida for years, long envisioned as the best solution for access problems for the port, which is located on conjoined, man-made islands just offshore from traffic-congested downtown Miami. The 1.1-mile tunnel would provide a direct link between the port and a causeway that runs parallel to the port between Miami and Miami Beach, eliminating the need for cargo trucks and cruise buses to navigate downtown traffic and providing easy access to Interstate 95 and Miami's other main traffic arterials.
   The Florida Department of Transportation had already allocated $462 million for the tunnel, and Miami-Dade County approved a $402.5 million local matching share. The state, with county endorsement, has already selected a consortium led by the France-based international construction giant Bouygues Travaux Publics and its financing partner, the Australia-based asset fund company Babcock & Brown.
   But opposition from the five-member Miami City Commission threatened to undo the entire project, which also had strong support from Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. The city commission's reluctance to provide the final $50 million for the tunnel forced Diaz and contractors to postpone an initial Sept. 30 deadline for city funding, eventually extending the deadline to December 17. The Florida DOT also added to the sense of peril for the project, saying it would use the state share of the tunnel funds for other projects if the city was not on board by the Dec. 17 deadline.
   The issue was resolved less than a day before the long-scheduled Thursday afternoon city commission vote on a funding resolution for the port tunnel. City and county officials Wednesday unveiled a massive, multibillion-dollar package of Miami economic development projects, with the $50 million port tunnel project folded into other major projects ranging from a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins on the site of the Orange Bowl, to new museums, renovation of a park adjacent to the port entrance, and even funding for the new performing arts center opened a year ago in downtown Miami. Critically, the package also included affordable housing and jobs programs for the economically challenged Overtown area several blocks inland from the port.
   The common link between the port tunnel and the other projects was funding from a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), a federally mandated taxing district intended for community redevelopment projects. City commissioners initially opposed to port tunnel project said they were reluctant to use CRA funds — considered to be anti-poverty funds in some respects — for a port tunnel unless they could be assured some economic development money would go to projects in their districts inland from the port.
   The compromise package is structured around an expansion of an existing CRA adjacent to the port to include the waterfront park and Watson Island, the small island across from the port where the causeway side of the tunnel will be located. Increasing the size of the tax district should allow the city to provide the additional $50 million over a 30-year period.
   Port of Miami Director Bill Johnson, who had said earlier he was optimistic about the city commission vote after meeting Tuesday morning with Miami City Manager Pedro Hernandez, hailed the 3-2 city commission vote.
   'We're appreciative for the vote and for what it represents for the Port of Miami and this community. The three Miami commissioners who voted in favor showed great leadership,' Johnson said.
   He told Shipper's NewsWire that the final go-ahead for the port tunnel, along with federal approval this fall of a dredging project that will allow the port to deepen its shipping channel from 42 feet to 50 feet, would solidify the port's future growth.
   Describing the tunnel project, the dredging project, and on-port infrastructure improvements as interrelated elements of the port's growth strategy, he said: 'That's the future of the Port of Miami, both for cargo and for cruise.'
   The Miami-Dade County Commissioners are scheduled to take an initial vote on the massive community redevelopment package on Tuesday. The county, which had already approved the port tunnel, is expected to endorse the package.
   Initial construction on the tunnel is scheduled to begin in 2008. The project is scheduled for completion in 2012. ' Jim Dow