Interstate 395 (I-395) is a 1.2-mile-long (2.0 km) spur expressway of Interstate 95 (I-95) in Miami, Florida. It connects State Road 836 (FL 836) in the west at an interchange with I-95 to State Road A1A (FL A1A, MacArthur Causeway) in the east. It is part of a controlled-access toll road known as the Dolphin Expressway, along with State Road 836.
The westernmost FL 836 portion of the Dolphin Expressway between FL 825 (Northwest 137th Avenue) in Tamiami and I-95 in Miami is an electronic tollway that is 14 miles (23 km) long. The easternmost I-395 portion of the Dolphin Expressway between I-95 and FL A1A is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that is 1.292 miles (2.079 km) long. The Dolphin Expressway is a total of 15.2 miles (25.0 km) long and both the FL 836 and I-395 portions are three lanes wide in each directions.
I-395 and FL 836 is maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), while the Dolphin Expressway is maintained by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX). The Dolphin Expressway from the Palmetto Expressway (FL 826) to I-95 opened in 1969, with the I-395 section opening in 1971, the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT) opening in 1974 and a second western extension opening in 2007.
Route description[]
I-395 begins at the interchange of I-95 and FL 836 just north of Downtown Miami and heads east as an elevated, six-lane expressway into downtown Miami. The feeder lanes from I-95 to eastbound I-395 make up a separate three lane ramp to the right of I-395, with the exit to US 1/US 41 being a left exit from the I-395 lanes and a right exit from the I-95 feeder lanes. The feeder lanes then merge into three lanes, heading east towards the MacArthur Causeway, with I-395 and FL 836 terminating just east of an entrance ramp with US 1 (FL 5)/US 41, and continuing as FL A1A.
History[]
The section of FL 836 signed as I-395 was supposed to open with the rest of the Dolphin Expressway in 1968, but was delayed due to a freeze at the federal level for road spending. The expressway opened on March 26, 1971.
On May 24, 2010, construction began on the Port Miami Tunnel, a $1 billion project that connects the port to other major highway arteries, including I-395, with the tunnel opening on August 3, 2014.
Future[]
Long term plans in the 2020s call for a double-decker span of FL 836 (from NW 17 Avenue, rising over the center of the existing FL 836 roadway, and touching down at I-395, east of the I-95 interchange), and a complete replacement of the I-395 sector (from I-95 to the MacArthur Causeway), with a new "signature" cable-stayed bridge extending across it and over Biscayne Boulevard. Community parks, art installations, and urban green spaces will be designed underneath the 1.4 mile stretch. The $802 million project is known as "Connecting Miami" and will be coordinated between the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX). Construction began in January 2019, with completion estimated for late 2023.
Exit list[]
The entire route is in Miami, Miami-Dade County.
See also[]
- Interstate 95 in Florida
- Interstate 195 (Florida)
- Interstate 295 (Florida)
- Interstate 595 (Florida)
- Interstate 795 (Florida)
- MacArthur Causeway
- Dolphin Expressway
- Florida State Road 836
- Florida State Road 826
- Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike