All Aboard work underway

Rail station rising in Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE There’s a new norm along the railroad tracks north of Broward Boulevard: the sight of work crews in hard hats and the sound of bulldozers.

The foundation is taking shape for All Aboard Florida’s new 60,000-square-foot Fort Lauderdale passenger rail station. About 30 workers are on the site daily, with 100 expected in the coming months as work ramps up.

More than 80 piles have been drilled 45 feet in the ground along the east side of the tracks, supporting what will become an 800-foot-long platform and a modernistic elevated passenger lounge with views of downtown.

It’s a similar scene in downtown West Palm Beach, where a station is rising between Evernia and Datura streets. In Miami, construction is taking place on a much bigger scale. More than 1,600 piles have been driven more than100 feet for the base of a massive elevated station on an 11-acre site near the old Miami Arena.

All of the stations are targeted for completion in late 2016, with service beginning in 2017 from Miami to West Palm Beach. Trains will begin running to Orlando later in 2017.

In Fort Lauderdale, workers are building a third track from north of Southwest Second Street to north of Andrews Avenue so freight trains can bypass the construction by late July or August. Then the existing two tracks will be rebuilt with a 35-foot gap for an “island style” platform to be installed between them.

The signature V-shaped trusses and columns that will be at all three South Florida stations will be cast on site, then erected in October. A 500-space parking