Bridge Park to open in fall

It has an awkward name but a pretty design. The first phase of the 1-5-4 Linear Bridge Park that will rise on the west side of town is expected to open later this year.
Miami Lakes’ newest park will begin west of the circle on Northwest 154th Street at Northwest 89th Avenue. Eventually plans call for it to slope up to the middle of the closed bridge that spans Interstate 75.
Initial construction is estimated to cost about $206,000 for the 8-acre park that will hug the west side of the circle.
Bicycle riders, amblers and dog walkers will share paths. Two islands will be planted with trees and plants that are native to Florida, and in the center a tree with a large canopy will be planted.
Benches and decorative light poles comprise the street furniture, and special drains will be installed to prevent flooding after storms. There is no parking.
Mayor Manny Cid called the project “a game changer for Northwest Miami-Dade” during the Aug. 28 groundbreaking.
“It’s meant as a park where people would walk or bike to,” Town Manager Edward Pidermann said on Sept. 6.
When fully built out, the project will be bordered by the Satori luxury homes development to the north; Northwest 153rd Street to the south, 1-75 on the west side and Northwest 89th Avenue along the eastern edge.
The bridge park was promised to residents three years ago, Cid said.
Vice Mayor Nelson Rodriguez suggested it after he saw similar projects elsewhere, including in Ocala.
It has two purposes: adding to the town’s green spaces and helping to prevent the opening of the bridge at 1-75 and Miami Lakes Drive, town officials said.
Getting access to Northwest 154th Street is a goal of commuters from Hialeah and residents of that city who live just across the bridge. They want to be able to connect to the Palmetto Expressway or elsewhere in town.
“A big thanks goes out to our present and previous council members who have never given up on this project,” Rodriguez said during a March press conference.
The bridge is owned by the Florida Department of Transportation; the town owns Northwest 154th Street and the land where the first phase of the park is to be built.
In recent years, the town and Hialeah have signed agreements to close Northwest 154th Street on both sides of the bridge, town attorney Raul Gastesi said during an Aug. 19 meeting on the matter, and each municipality’s councils have signed agreements to build a park on the bridge.
The town council directed Gastesi to pursue litigation if there is any challenge to open the bridge.