Town denies permit to Hialeah in NW 170th St. bridge dispute

Home Wednesday, January 15, 2020

The Town of Miami Lakes has denied Hialeah access to its northwestern boundary, where the city is seeking to finish construction at the base of the Northwest 170th Street bridge.
Hialeah is hoping to open the two-lane span that crosses Interstate 75 for thousands of city residents in newly constructed neighborhoods and applied for a right-of-way permit on Dec. 11.
The town denied the permit application on Dec. 27, Miami Lakes Town Manager Edward Pidermann said.
Hialeah omitted significant documents and designs for traffic improvements that would help mitigate gridlock in Miami Lakes once the bridge is opened up, among other issues, Pidermann said.
The missing proposals must be consistent with a 2003 road transfer agreement between Miami Lakes and the county, which gives the town
control over the planning, design and construction of all town roads, including Northwest 170th Street, according to the manager.
The bridge over I-75 would connect Hialeah and the town and would allow residents in the new developments faster access to town roads, Palm Springs North and the Palmetto Expressway.
A concern for town residents is that more cars and trucks are anticipated on municipal roads that can be crowded during morning and evening rush hours.
Pidermann said Hialeah contractor Downrite
Engineering, which was hired to open the overpass for vehicles, failed to turn over copies of permits from the Florida Department of Transportation and the county for traffic improvements on the town’s side of the bridge as well as traffic studies by the county and FDOT to determine the impacts to Northwest 170th Street and connecting roads.
Hialeah also didn’t supply any proposed restrictions to commercial traffic or traffic patterns for the town, the construction’s affect upon the town’s trees on the northwest side and the anticipated impact to the pavement life cycle on Northwest 170th Street, Pidermann said.
Hialeah officials could not be reached for comment.
Karla Damian, spokeswoman for the county, said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Construction is continuing on Hialeah’s side of the bridge and the city is preparing to continue the work on land owned by the county, plans show.
The county issued a permit for the work on its property.
Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez told The Miami Laker in December that the bridge would improve traffic flow for both cities.
He said the burgeoning neighborhoods on the west side of the bridge have about 2,000 residences and that more homes are going up.
Northwest 97th Avenue is the only road available for those residents who must drive south to Northwest 138th Street to reach the Palmetto Expressway or Interstate 75.
Miami Lakes’ rejection of Hialeah’s construction permit application is the latest move in the dispute that escalated into a lawsuit the town filed in October against Hialeah, Miami-Dade County; Lennar Corporation and Downrite Engineering Company to prevent construction on town property.
The legal action came after police and town officials found construction workers digging drainage ditches near the town’s portion of Northwest 170th Street.
The town has since built a pocket park in its section of the street.
Hialeah has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which is ongoing.