The road gods giveth, the road gods taketh away

Okey dokey. The good road construction news first:

By Monday, the of Miami Beach says it will reopen one east and one west lane on 17th street between the 17th Street Bridge and Alton Road. So we’ll no longer have to detour to Dade Boulevard to make our east.

But…..starting Monday night, the repaving of West Avenue between  Lincoln Road and Fifth Street begins. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, this work will be done mostly at night. We’ll see what impact this has as the work moves forward.

Southbound Alton Road detour between Michigan Avenue and Dade Boulevard should end soon

The roadwork on southbound Alton Road east of Sunset Harbour between Michigan Avenue and Dade Boulevard has backed up traffic on Alton for weeks.

It’s delayed traffic on Alton, shifted drivers to shortcut to Sunset Harbour via N. Bay Road, and generally been a mess.

But the Florida Department of Transportation says southound Alton is expected to reopen by the middle of next week (maybe Feb. 4…).

“Once reopened, two lanes of northbound and two lanes of southbound traffic will be restored in this area,” FDOT says. “Daytime lane closures may be used as needed while the contractor continues work.”

Work in the area includes water main, electrical, roadway and concrete construction.

Traffic double-play: Marathon Sunday morning, Alton Road flyover closure starting Sunday night

Belle Isle Blog loves the Miami Marathon, and our team will be out cheering the runners and snapping photos before dawn to share with all of you.

But we also want to remind Belle Isle and Venetian residents that with the race comes a Sunday morning traffic shutdown that begins about 6 a.m. and lasts as late as 10 a.m. So if you are making plans for brunch — or you need to get off the Beach early — either plan to walk or work around the timeline.

Our best advice, as always, is plan to cheer the runners!

Adding to our traffic trauma this weekend: The flyover bridge from eastbound MacArthur Causeway to northbound Alton Road will be closed starting on Sunday night through through Thursday while the contractor performs a paving operation and conducts bridge work.

Most of us don’t travel this way, but if you do — or your visiting plan to come this way — warn them to avoid the problem.

 

Shutdown on 17th Street at Alton Road starts Sunday night

The construction on Alton Road claims a major intersection starting Sunday night though May 22, when all east and west bound lanes will be closed on 17 Street west of Aton Road to Alton Court .

Alton Court is the alley that runs behind Epicure and Ace Hardware.

The closure will enable the Alton Road reconstruction contractor to install underground drainage structures and pipe, and then rebuild the road.

Northbound traffic on Alton Road will not be affected.

Motorists traveling south on Alton Road who wish to turn west on 17 Street will have to pass 17th Street, then turn west on 16th Street and north on West Avenue to get back to 17th Street west.

Drivers traveling north on Alton Road who need to go west on 17 Street will have to turn left on 16th Street and then right on West Avenue.

Drivers heading from Belle Isle to the east on 17 Street who will have to either go south on West to 16th Street, or use Dade Boulevard.

Alton Road construction promises a big southbound squeeze all on Thursday

The city of Miami Beach says southbound Alton Road will be reduced to one lane and detoured between 19th and 20th streets from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday.

That’s the area south of Michigan near Sunset Harbour. It could even more seriously slow the southbound drive on Alton toward Sunset Harbour — a pretty tough slog aready.

Be prepared.

Get ready for the Alton flyover Sunday night shutdown

FDOT map of Alton Road flyover detours

Here it comes….starting Sunday night,  the flyover from the eastbound MacArthur Causeway to northbound Alton Road will close, and along with it, traffic patterns in the area will be scrambled.

The flyover will be closed for a month while a contractor replaces its guardrail and rebuild the base of the bridge. The work is being overseen by the Florida Department of Transportation.

There will detours and lane closures:

–Motorists traveling east on the MacArthur Causeway who wish to travel north on Alton Road will have to  continue east on Fifth Street and turn north on Alton Road.

— Motorists traveling south on Alton Road who wish to travel east on Fifth Street will have to turn east on Eighth Street, then south on Lenox Avenue and turn east on Fifth Street.

— Motorists will be able to travel south on Alton Road to access westbound MacArthur Causeway.

— Motorists south of Fifth Street who are traveling north on Alton Road and wish to continue north will have to turn east on Fourth Street, then turn north on Lenox Avenue and then turn west on Fifth and then turn north again on Alton Road.

–Motorists south of Fifth Street who are traveling north on Alton Road and wish to travel west on the MacArthur Causeway will have to turn east on Fourth Street,  urn north on Lenox Avenue, turn west on Fifth and then continue across the MacArthur.

–Motorists will not be able to cross Alton Road at 6 Street.

State plans to close Alton Road flyover for repairs

The Florida Department of Transportation plans to close the flyover that bring eastbound traffic from the McArthur Causeway north on to Alton Road for repairs.

The closure would begin July 14 and last for a month — ending on Aug. 13.

The Miami Beach City Commission is having a special meeting at 11 a.m. Monday to discuss the closure, which is sure to have a major traffic impact in the Fifth Street area and potentially lead to more traffic over the Venetian Causeway.

The FDOT wants to close the flyover for repair work to the one-lane elevated roadway.

The work will mean drivers who want to go north on Alton Road will have to crowd with other eastbound drivers on Fifth Street and take a left on to Alton. Southbound drivers on Alton who want to head east will be detoured east at Eighth Street, and then will have to turn right on Lenox and right again on Fifth Street.

From the FDOT advisory on how traffic will diverted:

Motorists traveling east on the MacArthur Causeway who wish to travel north on Alton Road will have to:
1.      Continue east on 5 Street
2.      Turn north on Alton Road

Motorists traveling south on Alton Road who wish to travel east on 5 Street will have to:
1.      Turn east on 8 Street
2.      Turn south on Lenox Avenue
3.      Turn east on 5 Street

Motorists will be able to travel south on Alton Road to access westbound MacArthur Causeway.

Motorists south of 5 Street who are traveling north on Alton Road and wish to continue north will have to:
1.      Turn east on 4 Street
2.      Turn north on Lenox Avenue
3.      Turn west on 5 Street
4.      Turn north on Alton Road

Motorists south of 5 Street who are traveling north on Alton Road and wish to travel west on the MacArthur Causeway will have to:
1.      Turn east on 4 Street
2.      Turn north on Lenox Avenue
3.      Turn west on 5 Street
4.      Continue west on 5 Street to MacArthur Causeway

Motorists will not be able to cross east or west on Alton Road at 6 Street.

Meanwhile, other Alton Road construction — including the maze east of Sunset Harbour — continues.

 

More Dade Boulevard snags today, but break for July 4

The Alton Road-Dade Boulevard construction maze gets a new little twist today, and today only: FPL will be working on traffic signals at Dade and Meridian, a key pressure point in the detour around the Alton Road work.

Traffic lights will be out from 9 a.m. til 1 p.m., and police will be directing traffic at the intersection. Good thing this is a holiday week.

Speaking of which, there will be no active construction on Independence Day, the city reports. Of course, northbound Alton Road is still barricaded from 17th Street to Michigan Avenuem but you knew that……

Another Alton Road lane closure coming — heading south

Okay, you already know you can’t go north on Alton Road from 17th Street to Michigan.

For Tuesday, at least, one southbound lane on Alton Road will be closed between Dade Boulevard and 19th Street. In a press release, the city of Miami Beach says at least one southbound lane will stay open.

Eek.

The closure is for water main repairs. The closed lanes are supposed to reopen by Wednesday.

Hail to the chief — and a Wednesday evening traffic crunch

It’s great to be popular, as long as you can stand the traffic.

Miami Beach is a frequent destination for presidential visitors (the real deal or candidates who want to be).  President Obama is coming to town Wednesday for a fundraiser on the Sunset Islands.

His travel back and forth will take place between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., and for portions of that time span, there will be delays on the Julia Tuttle Causeway, Alton Road and the general area around the Sunset islands.

If you are coming home across the Tuttle, you might want to consider the Venetian. Or coming home early.

Considered yourself warned.