Major road, lane closures start Tuesday in downtown
A massive overhaul of the U.S. 1 tunnel that takes traffic under Las Olas and the New River begins on Tuesday — and that means major detours for commuters trying to navigate downtown Fort Lauderdale.
And these detours aren’t going away anytime soon.
The $28.4 million project won’t be complete until late 2023.
The long-awaited transformation, first talked about 20 years ago, will make improvements to the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel and also extend the tunnel top to make way for a posh new pedestrian plaza with pretty fountains, lush landscaping, redesigned brick pavers, artificial turf and terraced seating areas.
The entire intersection of Las Olas Boulevard at Southeast Sixth Avenue will also get a makeover.
U.S. 1, also known as Federal Highway, will also get some love, with crews resurfacing the busy road from Rio Vista Boulevard to south of the tunnel.
With all this roadwork going on, you can expect travel to get slower and trickier downtown.
One side of the tunnel will close while crews work. The other side will remain open, with one lane reserved for each direction, say state transportation officials.
On occasion, the entire tunnel will be closed and traffic detoured. That also goes for portions of Las Olas Boulevard.
The state-owned tunnel opened in 1960 to replace a bridge drivers once used to cross over the New River along Federal Highway.
Under the new design requested by Fort Lauderdale, the tunnel will be extended more than 100 feet to the north to make way for the pedestrian plaza.
Here’s what commuters can expect on Tuesday:
Las Olas Boulevard
The outside lane of westbound Las Olas Boulevard will be closed from Eighth Avenue to Sixth Avenue starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday. The lane will not reopen until Nov. 8. The closure is needed so crews can do demolition work on the north tunnel exit.
The pedestrian crosswalk on Las Olas Boulevard in front of the tunnel, from southbound SE Sixth Avenue to northbound SE Sixth Avenue, will close beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday. The crosswalk is scheduled to reopen on Nov. 8.
U.S. 1/Federal Highway
The outside lanes of U.S. 1 will be closed in each direction, from Southeast Fifth Court to Southeast Second Street beginning Tuesday at 7 a.m. They are set to reopen on Nov. 8 at 7 a.m.
The pedestrian sidewalk along U.S. 1 heading north from Southeast Sixth Street to Las Olas will close at 7 a.m. Tuesday. It is expected to reopen Nov. 8.
Pedestrians can use Southeast Third Avenue instead.
Southeast Sixth Avenue
All lanes of Southeast Sixth Avenue will close at Las Olas and Southeast Second Street starting on Tuesday at 7 a.m. That’s both northbound and southbound. The lanes will not reopen until Nov 8.
Drivers traveling west or east on Las Olas hoping to access U.S. 1 via Southeast Sixth Avenue will be detoured to Southeast Eighth Avenue. Drivers traveling south on U.S. 1 hoping to access Las Olas Boulevard via Southeast Sixth Avenue will be detoured to Southeast Fifth Avenue.
Signs will be in place to direct motorists.