Venetian Causeway homeowners prepare for Streetscape in Rivo Alto, DiLido, San Marino

New sidewalks and landscaping grace Rivo Alto

We can all be thankful that the construction and beautification of the Venetian Causeway is all but done, and the road is smooth and pretty much looks beautiful.

We still don’t understand why own new “historic” streetlights are in the middle of the new wide sidewalks (defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?), but we’ll learn to live with it.

And so now the Venetian Isles of Rivo Alto, DiLido and San Marino prepare for the sidewalk, lighting, landscaping and paving improvements on their local streets.

Island residents will get a briefing on how that construction will roll out and cover a range of other topics at the Dec. 13 meeting of the Venetian Island Homeowner Association.

The meeting happens at 6:30 at 250 East San Marino Dr., on San Marino Island.

Among the topics on a long agenda in addition to the Streetscape update: A report from the Miami Beach police department on island burglaries and efforts to blunt them; the possibility of a hotel development on 17th Street and Alton Road; a report on the Genting Project on the Miami Herald property, and plans to changing how tolls are handled on the Venetian Causeway and other causeway issues.

With Venetian Causeway delays, island streetscape project falls behind

The delays in completing the Venetian Causeway construction project — now expected to be done at the end of July — mean that work on sidewalk, lighting and landscaping upgrades on the Venetian Isles won’t be begin until about November, according to the city of Miami Beach.

The causeway reconstruction project, which includes wider sidewalks, drainage, lighting and crosswalks on the historic route between Miami and Miami Beach, is about seven months behind schedule due to an array of construction problems, ranging from rain delays to difficulties with underground utilities.

The original budget for the Streetscape project for Rivo Alto, DiLido and San Marino isles was $7.8 million. But moving underground water and sewer lines to make way for the Venetian work cost the city about $1 million.

Right now, the county expects to complete the work on the Venetian by the end of July. The city of Miami Beach is planning to invite bids on the island streetscape work on June 1, said Fernando Vazquez, Miami Beach’s director of capital improvements.

Typically, that is a 45-60 day process. If all goes well, the city would follow up with notices to proceed, and work could start sometime around November, Vazquez told homeowners at a meeting last week.

The capital improvement department will ask for another $1 million during the city’s capital improvement budgeting process, which happens in July.

At a meeting with Venetian Causeway Homeowner Association members, Vazquez said he will let VIHA members know when the City Commission meets on the capital money so they can urge that commissioners approve the additional funds.

Miami-Dade County: Venetian Causeway construction should be done by July

Miami-Dade construction chief Bassam Moubayed explains problems with Venetian Causeway construction.

The long, painful reconstruction of the Venetian Causeway — with its erratic lane shifts, jarring bumps, cyclist and pedestrian hazards — should be complete by the end of July, Miami-Dade’s County Public Works Department construction chief said Wednesday night.

“By July, it should be done,” Bassam Moubayed told impatient members of the Venetian Isle Residents Association. Being done means a final layer of pavement in place, flush with the pink crosswalks and manhole covers.

Unless there is lots of rain, Moubayed said. That could delay completion of the project, which is already nearly five months behind schedule.

“Pray for dry weather,” said Venetian Isles Residents Association president Greg Carney.

Bad weather is one reason the project — which includes wider sidewalks, new lighting, drainage and crosswalks — is so late. But so are the myriad surprises contractors found while doing the work, Moubayed said, like electric and gas lines in different places from shown on plans.

When the causeway work is complete, the city of Miami Beach will begin work on the individual Venetian Islands, installing new drains, sidewalks, lighting and landscaping.