The grand opening of Metrorail service to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) will finally integrate Miami-Dade County's rapid-transit system with a transformed Miami International Airport (MIA) – with much of that connectivity and modernized infrastructure constructed by Odebrecht USA and its Partners.
Nearly three decades after Metrorail began heavy-rail operations in 1984, the "missing link" to MIA allows residents and tourists to board the system at any of its 22 downtown and suburban stations and be whisked to the intermodal center, adjacent to MIA, and then hop on the automated MIA Mover light-rail shuttle directly to the airport. The new Miami International Airport Metrorail Station and Orange Line Service is an elevated 2.4-mile spur built by a joint venture of Odebrecht and OHL at a cost of $360 million.
"Moving people is what we are all about, and we have now reached the day when our passengers can move seamlessly between various forms of ground transportation, mass transit and air travel," said José Abreu, Director of the County's Aviation Department that operates MIA.
The MIC is Greater Miami's "Grand Central Station." Constructed and managed by the Florida Department of Transportation, it is the southern terminus of South Florida's three-county Tri-Rail commuter train service, hosts MIA Metrorail Station and MIA Mover, and consolidates all of the airport's rental-car activities. The MIC will also be a central transfer point to Amtrak, Greyhound, tour buses and taxi cabs.
Odebrecht, with joint-venture partner Parsons, constructed the elevated 1.27-mile MIA Mover Automated People Mover System, linking the MIC with MIA, at a cost of $259 million. The free tram service commenced operations early last September. The MIA Mover alone has eliminated 1,400 rental-car shuttle trips to MIA every day, which reduced its carbon footprint by 157,000 tons of CO2 and saved the equivalent of 42,500 acres of pine trees – a few of the features that allowed the project to achieve LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Both AirportLink and MIA Mover won the nation's top safety recognition award, "Star VPP" status from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program recognizes companies that have implemented effective safety and health management systems, and which maintain injury and illness rates below industrial average. Star status is OSHA's highest safety achievement.
Collaborating for more than a decade, the Parsons Odebrecht JV (POJV) team has successfully managed and constructed more than $2.2 billion worth of work, including the complete renovation of MIA's South Terminal and the total reconstruction of MIA's North Terminal, a project nearing completion. POJV has awarded contracts to more than 140 local small businesses during the past 10 years, totaling more than $700 million in work.
"This is the culmination of an incredible and historic collaboration of so many stakeholders committed to the future of Greater Miami," said Gilberto Neves, President and CEO of Odebrecht USA. "We are honored to partner with such a visionary team in building the future of our community. The Miami Dade County's leadership, our joint venture partners, subcontractors and team members. All of the incredible county employees at the aviation and transit departments."
"The result of the successful completion of this project will not only provide more travel choices for people, but it will place every hotel and business in downtown Miami, Kendall, and everywhere else along the Metrorail system at the front door of Miami International Airport – the largest economic engine in the region," said Ysela Llort, Miami-Dade Transit's Director.
