One of the largest single concrete pours in the history of downtown Miami’s I-395 reconstruction has locked in the foundation for the last of six arches on the Signature Bridge, pushing the long-delayed project toward its late-2029 finish line.
Crews placed 3,672 cubic yards of concrete — delivered by 408 truckloads — to form the foundation for Arch No. 6, adjacent to the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, Miami Today reported. The foundation measures 120 feet long, 50 feet wide and 16 feet deep. Four concrete pumps, including a backup, ran during the operation, and more than 30,000 feet of cooling tubing was embedded to manage heat as the massive pour cured.
The bridge’s spider-like arches will span Northeast Second Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard, forming the visual centerpiece of the broader I-395/SR 836/I-95 design-build project. The work, led by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Greater Miami Expressway Agency with contractor Archer Western-de Moya Group Joint Venture, carries an estimated cost of about $866 million.
A Decade in the Making
Few South Florida projects have tested drivers’ patience like this one. Construction began in 2016 with completion originally targeted for 2024. The date slipped to 2026, then 2027, and the overall project is now expected to reach completion by late 2029, according to project reporting by Engineering News-Record and Miami Today.
There has been visible progress this year. Two new ramps — southbound I-95 to eastbound I-395, and westbound I-395 to southbound I-95 — were slated to open in the second quarter of 2026, and construction continues on the westbound Signature Bridge superstructure with successive deck pours, according to the project’s weekly construction updates.
Drivers near the museum campus felt the latest work directly. Southbound North Bayshore Drive saw daytime closures from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in late July and the first week of August, with detours routed via Northeast 15th and 14th streets to Biscayne Boulevard.
When finished, the rebuilt corridor is designed to improve traffic flow, capacity and safety along the elevated stretch connecting I-95, the Dolphin Expressway and the MacArthur Causeway — and to give downtown Miami a piece of highway architecture intended to double as a civic landmark.
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