Elevating the Tamiami Trail

Since its completion in 1928, the Tamiami Trail (US-90) has acted as a dam, blocking water flowing from Lake Okeechobee down into Florida Bay. This led to the dehydration of the southern portion of the Everglades and the subsequent depletion of topsoil. Essentially, the Everglades is sinking as sea levels are rising, a potentially devastating situation for the aquifers that supply our drinking water and keep all of Florida's ecosystems in balance. According to a study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, the areas south of the Tamiami Trail has lost as much of 3 feet of soil since the road was built in 1928. That doesn't seem like much until you consider the fact that it takes about 100 years for just a 1 inch layer of soil to form, and some areas of the Everglades only have about 2 feet of soil to spare.

The Everglades Skyway is an interesting project proposal on elevating 11 miles of the Tamiami Trail. This uplift would allow sheet flow to pass naturally underneath the highway, allowing the slow water filtration processes that once occurred here to once again take place. Wildlife would also be able to safely pass from north to south without having to cross dangerous roadways (something that has proved devastating to the Florida Panther population).

With a 300 million dollar price tag, the project, although supported by many community groups and government agencies, has been altered by US ARMY Corps of Engineers to a series of bridges, one of which is already under construction. These bridges, once complete, will total 6.5-miles in combined length. The Corp's current plan is a compromise between the original 11-mile Skyway proposal and the Corps 3-mile version, and although it is not what was hoped for by the Skyway's supporters like the Sierra Club, it is still a step in the right direction. The more of the highway that becomes elevated, the more we will be able to restore the Everglade's original hydrological flow, protecting south Florida's aquifers from salt water intrusion.