Build a tunnel if we can afford it; otherwise, embrace bridge-building | Opinion

The Sun Sentinel editorial of Oct. 20, 2023 (“Mayor’s demand for tunnel digs deep political hole with county”) creates an incorrect impression that Broward County and the city of Fort Lauderdale are enemies.

There are numerous examples where the county and city work very well together for the betterment of our community. The editorial specifically focused on commuter rail in the FEC corridor and the current effort to reach a final decision on a rail crossing of the New River.

The county, the city and the business community strongly support adding tri-county commuter rail to the FEC corridor. When the future commuter rail becomes fully operational and its trains are added to the current Brightline and freight trains, more than 200 trains per day will cross the New River.

Everyone agrees that a tunnel is a far superior solution — if the cost is feasible. That said, both a 2021 Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) study and a recent county-city study suggest that a tunnel could be cost prohibitive.

This impression has led the Broward County Commission to lean toward an approximately 40-foot-high bascule bridge compromise proposal that commissioners hope can be supported by more than two dozen stakeholder groups, including the marine industry, which relies heavily on upriver access.

While the editorial states that commuter rail on the FEC corridor has been discussed since 1982, the reality is that the modern initiative restarted in 2017 under the leadership of County Commissioner Beam Furr. Since that time, numerous studies, public hearings and meetings have advanced this discussion to the point where key actions have or are taking place.

• FDOT spent several years completing a feasibility study, which validated the need for the commuter rail system, followed by a second study procured by the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
• Miami-Dade and Broward counties are attempting to finalize an agreement with Brightline to allow for commuter rail access from downtown Miami to Broward County.
• Broward County successfully passed a penny surtax to be used to improve transportation, and that surtax is generating close to $500 million per year on top of other local, state and federal transportation dollars.
• Broward County voted in 2022 to support the development of Phase 1 of Commuter Rail south of the New River. All cities in that corridor, along with the state and federal governments, have supported this initiative.

Against this backdrop, Broward cities in the FEC corridor, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, Broward Workshop and other business and civic organizations have become active participants in efforts to make commuter rail on the FEC corridor a reality.

As part of this process, the city of Fort Lauderdale has continued to opine that the previous cost estimates to build and operate a tunnel are seriously overestimated.

The city shared its concerns with Broward County in a letter dated Oct. 16, 2023 and indicated that before any final bridge or tunnel decision is made next year, the city wants to complete its own due diligence and study using independent tunnel experts.

Simultaneously, the city continues to meet with federal agencies and officials to determine the potential availability of federal infrastructure funds.

There is no harm in the city undertaking its own expedited study to more precisely determine the actual cost and scope of a tunnel under the New River.

Both Broward Workshop and the Downtown Development Authority have often served as intermediaries between city, county, state and federal governments on important issues such as this, and our participation can be key to the parties reaching consensus. Without consensus, there can be no tri-county commuter rail in the FEC corridor.

If the cost of a tunnel is manageable and/or federal dollars are available, then Broward Workshop’s efforts will be to firm up consensus to build a modern tunnel that preserves our great skyline and advances South Florida commuter rail into the future. If not, we will work toward achieving an iconic bridge across the New River to continue to advance the South Florida commuter rail project.

This once-in-a-lifetime project demands a thorough review of all options to provide the best solution for Broward County, Fort Lauderdale and all of South Florida.

Steve Hudson of Fort Lauderdale is chair of Broward Workshop, a nonprofit, nonpartisan business organization consisting of the chief decision-makers representing more than 100 major businesses and professions in Broward County.