Drama Heating Up Over Downtown's Proposed $800 Million Signature Bridge For I-395

The drama continues to heat up over the design and construction of Downtown Miami's proposed and approved, $800 million Signature Bridge, which would transform I-395. A Miami-Dade judge denied a motion by FDOT to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who challenged the state's controversial choice of the $800 million "The Fountain" design by Archer Western and The de Moya Group. Sarnoff was a major advocate to get the bridge redesign approved, working with Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado to hold FDOT to their pledge to include the Signature Bridge as part of I-395's replacement. Sarnoff's case alleges that FDOT violated their settlement agreement via their handling of bids to design and build the bridge by manipulating scoring to allow the Archer Western and The de Moya Group's proposal to win. Another design by contractors Fluor, Astaldi and MCM, which finished in second, was allegedly the favorite design by community representatives. In their motion to dismiss, FDOT argued that the court venue was improper as another case is currently under review by Florida's Division of Administrative Hearings. That case is scheduled to be heard in November and December of this year (2017). Check-out the winning bid, "The Fountain" by Archer Western and The de Moya Group here.