Planning for sea level rise: Miami Beach's Alton Road
Modern Cities shares images of a congested South Florida arterial roadway corridor reconstructed as an effort to address sea level rise.
Alton Road Before (Google Streetview)
Incorporated on March 26, 1915, Miami Beach is one of Florida’s most walkable cities with an average population density of nearly 12,000 residents per square mile. Running nearly the length of the entire city, and named by developer Carl Fisher after a Chicago Alton freight car, Alton Road serves as a major north-south arterial through the barrier island.
Alton Road After
Also known as State Road 907, the thoroughfare has been negatively impacted by early signs of sea level rise. To deal with the challenges of sea level rise and global warming, on April 1, 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) embarked on a $35.5 million roadway and drainage improvement project. Stretching 1.5-miles between 5th Street and Michigan Avenue, the reconstruction project included the following roadway and drainage improvements:
- Installation of three pump stations and a new drainage system to improve storm water drainage in area
- Rebuilt roadway, driveways, sidewalk and pedestrian ramps
- Construction of new sidewalk extensions
- Access management via the construction of concrete median islands to manage turning movements
- Upgrading traffic barriers on the Alton Road flyover and Dade Canal
- Replacement of traffic and pedestrian signals at intersections
- Installation of new street lighting
- Installation of new landscaping and irrigation
- Installation of new signage and pavement markings
Alton Road Before (Google Streetview)
Substantially completed in October 2015, the reconstruction and traffic calming project maintained four travel lanes, including a shared lane for cars and bicycles, on-street parking and wider sidewalks where feasible within constrained urbanized right of way. Here is a look at Alton Road today.
Alton Road After