Florida DOT’s Non-Transparent Acceptance of Contract Bid For Miami’s “Signature Bridge”

If you’re a resident of South Florida, you’ve been subjected to a deluge of

editorials and radio spots during the past several months discussing the

I-395 “Signature” Bridge project, the centerpiece of which consists in the

rebuilding of 1.4 miles of I-395 from the I-95/Midtown interchange to the

west channel bridge of the MacArthur Causeway.

In case you’re not up to speed on the latest developments, a decision was

made on May 12th by a Florida DOT panel to award the project to the joint

venture of Archer Wester/The de Moya Group over four other bidders- a

decision that was panned by local media because of its controversial

selection process and its lack of local feedback at the hearing.

Earlier this week, Miami-Dade commissioners voted unanimously to petition

the Florida DOT to halt the awarding of the $800 million contract so that

elected officials and residents could further debate the proposed designs.

We’ve even got one of the losing bidders now taking to the airways to

protest the FDOT’s decision.

And here we are, potentially facing an impasse and a delay of the project’s

anticipated December 2017 start date.

To this point, the FDOT’s process hasn’t exactly been transparent-  no

member of the public or local government were able to view the competing

proposals during the evaluation process due to FDOT’s procurement rules that

they somehow imagine keeps lobbying out of the selection process

Nor has it actually done much to consider the public input that FDOT

initially asked for community input.  Enough knowledgeable people did offer

public comment, but why isn’t FDOT listening?

It can be argued that the FDOT already has some guilt to atone for in the

area, as it had a hand in the urban decay that plagued Overtown for decades

after it decided to build Interstate 95 right through its boundaries.

Call me cynical, but I’m not the only one who thinks that the FDOT is

effectively gaming the selection committee process to produce an outcome

that it wants– remember, the  FDOT promised the community it would be

empowered to determine the aesthetics, and that never materialized

Perhaps I’m really a hardened cynic, but could this actually be FDOT

bureaucrats engaging in a bit of payback towards the community for having

the nerve to go to court to ensure there would actually be a “signature”

bridge built?

For my two pesos, I actually like the design of the bridge that is currently

standing as the winning bid– I can’t honestly say I was impressed about a

bridge whose cables make it look like a giant Frazier Christmas tree.  But

arguably just as important as the aesthetics of the project is the integrity

of the process leading up to its selection, and while it’s impossible to

satisfy every constituency group, it’s essential that what results from this

process actually reflects the preferences of local residents through their

elected officials.

This project will come at great public expense and take its place as a

significant Miami landmark.  Twenty years from now, Miamians don’t want to

be talking derisively about the “Bridge from Tally”-  how much more

preferable would it be for this new landmark to have broad public input and

support from the folks who will actually be crossing and admiring it every

day?

Principled conservatives believe that civic participation begins with home

rule and local decision-making- it’s never a good state of affairs when

bureaucrats from any authority administer top-down decrees that don’t truly

consider local sentiments and sensibilities.

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