I-595 reopens, but project not complete

DAVIE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A portion of Interstate 595 has reopened after a construction project over the weekend, but the project is far from over.

Crews reopened the lanes of I-595 late Sunday night after lifting a flyover bridge off its foundation and boosting its height by 18 inches.

Shoppers like Glenn Marthe ran their errands Saturday afternoon, before the highway shut down. However, most residents agreed that the plan to save both flyovers, and $200 million, is worth the temporary headache. "You deal with the pain short term, and hopefully it's good for another 10 years," said Marthe.

Crews closed I-595 from State Road 7 to I-75 for 24 hours over the weekend, while they lifted the steel and concrete bridge at a rate of about an inch an hour. "It was very successful," said Paul Lampley of the Florida Department of Transportation. "If it hadn't been for some lightning storms we've had, some heavy rain, we would have probably finished a little early."

Officials said the southern point of the flyaway ramp will connect with new eastbound lanes.

However, the eastbound ramp of the highway, from University Drive to I-595, will remain closed for the next four months, while crews remove part of the bridge and rebuild the ramp in its new location.

The ramp shut down caused delays at a nearby busy intersection Monday. "Because they're expanding, I try to stay away from that," one man said.

The entire expansion project is scheduled to be completed in 2014.

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