MDX near opening FL836 Dolphin Expressway extension beyond HEFT

Miami Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) is preparing to open an extension to its State Highway 836 (FL836) or Dolphin Expressway, and major improvements to toll collection nearby. The Extension takes the FL836 on from its present western terminus at Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT) to NW137 Avenue. A groggy Stephan Andriuk, director of toll operations pled Friday to postpone an interview because he was up all night Thursday night testing the new highway speed toll lanes (so we may have some amendments to make to this report).

Real toll collection begins July 1, though transponders and license plate numbers of passing traffic are being read for test purposes now. Ribbon cutting ceremonies are scheduled for June 21.

The $225m project began construction in 2004. About half the cost of the project is not directly related to the extension at all, but consists of relocation of FL836 roadways east of the HEFT, new highspeed ramps to the HEFT and a new toll plaza with a mix of highway speed transponder tolling - open road tolling (ORT) they are calling it - and stop-to-pay lanes.

The Extension proper opening west of the HEFT has a toll point for transponders-only, no cash.

Says a newsletter on the Extension: "Open road tolling (ORT) is the future of toll collection and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority is on a fast track... (The) system woks without traditional toll plazas which require drivers to slow down or stop to pay tolls. The Dolphin extension will be the first SunPass only ORT road in Miami-Dade."

The toll is only 25c, the planned beginning of installing more but smaller denomination toll points explained by the local toll authority this way: "Motorists will save money by paying for only the portion of the roadway they drive. This funding mechanism will facilitate future road improvements that will further relieve congestion and improve safety."

It is not full electronic tolling. For the moment there is no video tolling as in Tampa on their reversible express lanes.

The Dolphin Extension is Westpark Houston style transponder-only tolling on the Dolphin Extension. Cameras will for now be used purely for enforcement, though later they could be used to do video tolls.

Drivers not taking the extension - getting off westbound onto local NW107Av or taking the HEFT - have cash toll booths to take the $1.00 cash toll or can go highway speed with a SunPass transponder and pay 75c. And drivers inbound to Miami, eastbound, have the same $1.00/75c ramp toll at NW97Av or on the mainline at NW87Av.

The new NW97Av toll plaza on the 836 east of the HEFT has 17 toll lanes - four lanes of open road tolling in each direction, three manual cash collection and one slowspeed transponder-only lane eastbound, while westbound there are four manual cash lanes and a slowspeed transponder lane. Cost of the new NW97Av toll plaza is $67m.

These connections to the Turnpike (HEFT) 836WB to HEFT-SB, principally a direct connector ramp in place of an old slow loop, opened Feb 2006 and moved traffic out of the way for the extension works. An auxiliary lane addition NW57 to the Palmetto 826 and a new NW57 ramp opened in the fall of 2006. There were new bridges built over CSX railroad tracks on the mainline of 836 to make driving conditions less tight.

The 836 Extension proper adds 5.1km (3.2 miles) of 2x2 lane expressway westward from the HEFT. At its western end it also involves 2.6km (1.6mi) of reconstruction and widening to 2x3 lanes of NW137Av, the previous 2-lane surface arterial at the end of the Extension.

The Extension will relieve congestion on SW8th St.

The reconstruction of 836 between the HEFT and Palmetto 826 provides for later addition of express lanes in the center.

Next is reconstruction of interchange with Palmetto

Other projects in planning are a major upgrade of the already big 836/826 or Dolphin/Palmetto Expressway interchange, presently a big bottleneck. That's a joint project with Florida DOT which runs the free Pametto exwy. In the interim there will be an improvement to the 826 SB ramp to 836 Eastbound (EB).

The 836 got highway speed transponder tolling at its 17Av toll plaza at the far eastern end about four years ago.

BACKGROUND: MDX, a state toll authority with a board appointed by the state governor and Dade County operates five tollroads, mostly radials in the Miami Dade metro area. The tollroads presently only see tolls collected at a minority of potential toll points, allowing over half the travel on them to be toll-free. The inequity of this mix of free and tolled travel is planned to be addressed with a move to open road electronic tolling, but the details still have to be hashed out in public outreach and politicking.

Toll revenues in FY2006 were $77.5m, operations, maintenance and administration were $21.4m for earnings before depreciation and interest of $56.1m. Debt service was $32.2m. Longterm debt totaled $696m.

Transponders in the Miami area are available online at www.mdx-way.com, by calling 1-888-865-5352 or over the counter at various drugstores and supermarkets in the Miami Dade area.

see http://www.mdxway.com

TOLLROADSnews 2007-06-09