Final groundbreaking ceremony held for much-anticipated Underline Project
MIAMI - New York City has the Highline and now Miami has The Underline. Ten miles of unused land under the Metrorail is being transformed into a beautiful safe place with a little something for everyone to enjoy.
An exciting day for many Miami-Dade residents, elected officials, the Department of Transportation and Public Works and friends of The Underline as they grabbed their shovels and hard hats for the third and final groundbreaking ceremony of the Underline Project.
Phase 3 of The Underline is a 7-mile stretch along US 1 that connects from SW 19th Avenue near the Vizcaya Metrorail Station to the Dadeland South Station.
"Face three is so exciting, because the community spoke, and the designers listened. You have everything from pickleball, basketball, soccer, stormwater garden to help with flooding in a natural way micro forest, being pioneered in Miami-Dade County for the first time more dog parks, and skate park," said Meg Daly founder.
Meg Daly is the brainchild behind the project.
"A decade ago, I had a bike accident and broke both of my arms as luck would have. It ended up walking below the metro rail and thought why we don't turn all this land under the metro rail and to a park and that was a big idea," said Daly.
Phase 1 named Brickell Backyard opened in 2021 and runs underneath the Metrorail from the Miami River to SW 13th Street.
"What you'll find there is something for everyone there's basketball there's dog parks there's paces for public performance, and it's really supported by Miami Dade County, our partner, as well as a number of private donors," said Daly.
Once the 10-mile linear park is complete, it will create more than 120 acres of open spaces with restored natural habitats, improved pedestrian and bicycle pathways, recreational facilities, community programs and public art installations.
They will also be improving 34 intersections in the area. The big idea is to widen the crosswalks to make pedestrians and bicyclists more visible when crossing US 1. The entire Underline Project is expected to be complete by 2026.