Drivers leaving downtown Miami on westbound I-395 have a new way onto southbound I-95 as of Thursday morning, November 5. The new ramp, part of the $866 million Connecting Miami reconstruction that includes the Signature Bridge, opened to traffic after an overnight shutdown, and its new layout removes a merge point from the old configuration.

The change is simple to describe and noticeable at the wheel: anyone bound for southbound I-95 now gets onto the ramp about 500 feet earlier than before. New overhead signs went up with the opening to sort the lanes ahead of the split.

How the new lanes work

Westbound I-395 now divides into four lanes with clear assignments. The left lane is for southbound I-95. The two center lanes continue to westbound S.R. 836, the Dolphin Expressway. The right lane is for northbound I-95.

For a trip to Brickell, the Rickenbacker Causeway or points south on I-95 the move is to get into the left lane early, follow the new overhead signs, and expect other drivers to be adjusting to the layout for the first few weeks. The project team asks everyone to watch for the signs and drive with care while the pattern becomes familiar.

Crews did the switch on the night of Wednesday, November 4, closing westbound I-395 at Biscayne Boulevard and the Downtown Miami ramp to westbound I-395 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The project had held Wednesday, November 11 as a backup date in case of weather, and it did not need it.

One piece of a much larger job

The ramp is the latest finished piece of the I-395/S.R. 836/I-95 Design-Build Project, a partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Greater Miami Expressway Agency (GMX). The work stretches from NW 17 Avenue on S.R. 836, through the Midtown Interchange where I-395, I-95 and S.R. 836 meet, all the way to the MacArthur Causeway Bridge. On I-95, the project runs from NW 8 Street to NW 29 Street.

The best known part is the Signature Bridge over NE 2 Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard. Its six arches are built from 345 precast segments, each shaped differently and each weighing about 90 tons, and the tallest arch rises roughly 330 feet. Two arches, numbers 4 and 5, are complete, and crews are now building the cast-in-place elements of arch 6. The deck pours for the bridge were finished over the summer.

West of the bridge, the new I-395 is being assembled from 1,947 precast roadway segments. Most are lifted in by crane, and a specialized segment lifter handles the stretches over the FEC railroad tracks and nearby streets. Along I-95, the replacement of the concrete pavement in both directions is nearly complete.

What else is coming

When the full project wraps up, I-395 will carry three through lanes in each direction for its roughly 1.4 miles between the Midtown Interchange and the MacArthur Causeway, with separate connector ramps to and from I-95. S.R. 836 will gain a double-decked roadway that gives drivers a direct run to the MacArthur Causeway, free of local traffic getting on and off, while the existing lanes underneath handle exits to local streets and I-95.

Other changes residents will see along the way:

A new connector ramp from southbound I-95 to westbound S.R. 836, built to cut down on weaving.

An extra lane on the eastbound S.R. 836 ramp to northbound I-95, plus an auxiliary lane on northbound I-95 from north of NW 17 Street to NW 29 Street.

NW 2 Avenue reconnected underneath I-395, giving residents of the surrounding blocks more direct street access.

Upgraded stormwater systems designed for heavy rain and king tides, and more than 400 sensors plus a weather station on the Signature Bridge to monitor the structure in real time.

The project's current estimate for full completion is late 2029, with the schedule subject to weather and other conditions.

Before you drive this weekend

Overnight closures continue as crews keep building. On Saturday, November 7, all eastbound S.R. 836 lanes close at NW 17 Avenue from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., and westbound S.R. 836 may fully close between NW 12 Avenue and NW 17 Avenue from 1 to 8 a.m. On Sunday, November 8, westbound I-395 closes at Biscayne Boulevard from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. so crews can set formwork for new bridge piers. During that Sunday closure, the I-395 ramps to northbound and southbound I-95 stay open for drivers using the Downtown Miami ramp. Signed detours are posted for each closure.

Weekly updates, detour maps and a construction map are posted on the project's site at i395-miami.com, where residents can also sign up for email alerts or request a community presentation. Project information is available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

Sources