Fort Lauderdale officials are pursuing federal grants for a tunnel under the New River, as the city goes full steam ahead with a plan that is opposed by Broward County commissioners— who have final say on the project.
The decision came after the city received last week their lowest estimate yet for the contentious plan. But at almost a billion dollars in total, even that would come in at about double the price of the bridge crossing that the county wants to build instead.
Meanwhile, a consultant working for the county has begun to work on a design for the bridge, according to an email obtained by WLRN.
For years, the city and county have been at odds over how to get proposed commuter trains across the New River. In recent months, the dispute has become even more divisive — and costly to taxpayers — as each pursue their favored approach.
And at a rare joint meeting late last year, county commissioners signaled they would move forward with plans to build a bridge, with a majority of city commissioners also accepting they'd be open to that option due to the costs of a tunnel.
READ MORE: Bridge emerges as preferred alternative for New River crossing at rare joint meeting
Despite the cost and opposition, the latest report was met with optimism by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis who has long been the tunnel's biggest supporter.
At a city conference meeting last week, the city's Transportation & Mobility Director, Ben Rogers, presented a consultant report from BDO. The report states that it "proves that the tunnel is viable and fiscally feasible by providing a shorter tunnel alternative with a lower cost compared to previous studies."
But the estimate, at $888 million, did not include costs required for Brightline trains to use the tunnel — which come in at more than an additional $100 million.
That brings the total project cost to just under a billion dollars — $997,493,673. This is still the least expensive estimate the city has received, but cost estimates for building a bridge are about $550 million, according to a joint-study.
Maintaining the tunnel would cost about $1.6 million a year, according to the BDO report.
The commuter rail trains are part of a tri-county mobility project that aims to allow residents of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties to travel north and south.
Those trains would use tracks currently used by Brightline, which will continue to operate. But the current river crossing in Fort Lauderdale is a low hanging drawbridge that can't handle the increase in traffic.
It would also have to be lowered more often to accommodate the increased train traffic which would delay marine traffic along the New River.
Change the county's mind
The county-city feud is delaying the project and costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the last five years, the county and city have spent over half a million dollars in studies regarding the crossing.
Still, Trantalis appeared hopeful the report would help change the county's mind about the crossing.
"It's my expectation that they will come to the realization that the tunnel will ultimately be more financially feasible," Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said of county commissioners last week. "I think the county is depending on us to continue doing what we're doing because they too would ultimately want to see which is the most financially feasible approach in which to take."
Kevin Kelleher, a county administrator who has headed the New River crossing project attended the meeting but did not speak.
According to an email sent by Kelleher to county commissioners, the county is having an external consultant review the BDO report to "validate the findings, determine feasibility, and reconcile with previous reports."
Another external consultant has already begun work on the bridge design, according to the email.
Both reports are expected in June.
County commissioners will have the final say in how trains, including Brightline and the county's proposed commuter rail system, will cross the New River. They have long favored the less-expensive bridge that will cut through Downtown Fort Lauderdale. The city being on-board with their preferred option will make getting federal funding easier.
Federal money
During the meeting last week, Rogers presented commissioners with four federal grant opportunities to help fund the planning and construction of the project.
Most of the grants require a local municipality match a percentage of the amount given. With deadlines for most of the grants rapidly approaching, some commissioners worried that the city would be chasing money that they could not match.
"Frankly, I think our local match needs to come from the county," Trantalis said, noting the billions of dollars in county coffers from a transportation tax approved in 2018.
Outgoing City Manager Greg Chavarria advised that city staff proceed in applying for the grants while concurrently meeting with the county. He said that the city was only applying for part of the grants to help with planning stages of the tunnel project.
When it comes time for more money for construction, Chavarria warned that the city is more likely to receive federal money if the county is on board.
"We would like to get greater merit if we submit something that has concurrence with the county," he told commissioners. "When the city is ready to appeal to the federal level for funding for construction, it is important that there is consensus, not only with the county, but with the community, the business community, and even other stakeholders that need to understand more this system."
Trantalis maintained his optimism about collaborating with the county, no matter the project.
"Ultimately I think the city and the county will come together when we actually need to make the ask for the construction and the engineering aspect of whatever project we move forward with," he said.
Tunnel or bridge
In December, supporters of the tunnel — the most prominent being Trantalis — were dealt a blow as city commissioners passed a resolution that favored a tunnel but would accept a bridge.
The resolution read: "The City of Fort Lauderdale Commission continues to affirm a tunnel as the locally preferred alternative... However... if after collaboration with the Broward County it is determined that a tunnel is not a feasible option then we will support the Broward County in advancing a mid-level bascule drawbridge as an alternative."
Trantalis called the vote the "epitaph" to Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Commissioner Steve Glassman, the other dissenting vote, compared the resolution to "raising a white flag" to the county.
"You are showing that you are not representing your residents. You are showing that you're saying to your constituents, 'Screw you. I don't care. I'm going to ruin your downtown,'" Glassman said to Sturman after the vote.
But Commissioner Pamela Beasly-Pittman, who voted for the resolution, said: "I believe this is an opportunity to collaborate and move forward."
"We need to move ahead," said Broward County Mayor Nan Rich at a joint-meeting with the city in December. "It is our project, and we need to move ahead with this, we can’t hold it up any longer.”
