Miami-Dade Transit to Break Ground on Metrorail Extension

Miami Dade Transit's (MDT) Metrorail celebrates its 25th anniversary this month and will also break ground on a Metrorail airport link, a 2.4-mile extension from the Earlington Heights station to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) that is currently under construction next to Miami International Airport.

Expected to open in 2012, the Metrorail MIC Connector is the county's most significant construction project since the opening of the original Metrorail system, and it's a centerpiece of the People's Transportation Plan (PTP), which was approved by Miami-Dade voters in 2002. The bulk of the funding for the $526 million project will come from the PTP half-penny tax, with the Florida Department of Transportation contributing $100 million.

The MIC, a Florida Department of Transportation project, will serve as the county's central transportation hub, linking all modes of ground transportation, including Metrorail, bus, Tri-Rail, Amtrak and a centralized rental car facility. Passengers will connect to the airport via a people mover linking the MIC to Miami International Airport.