The US Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Friday that the state of Florida has broken ground on the Port of Miami Intermodal and Rail Reconnection Project. The project, which will restore rail service between the port and the Florida East Coast Rail Yard, which was suspended in 2005 following damage to the rail bridge during Hurricane Wilma.
The project is valued at $49 million--$22 million of which came from the US DOT's 2010 TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant program. The rail reconnection project is part of a larger investment program taking place at the Port of Miami. The Miami Access Tunnel and the 50-foot dredge project will also allow the Port of Miami to benefit from the Panama Canal expansion in late 2014.
The restored rail service will link the port with the Hialeah Intermodal Rail yard in Florida, and from there will provide direct cargo access to the national rail system. Currently, the port is completely dependent on trucks to transport containers to three primary distribution centers.