MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Known as the “magic city,” living in Miami is undoubtedly a delightful experience, but navigating through its airport has posed some challenges for locals and tourists alike.
The Miami International Airport (MIA) broke ground on an historic parking facility, infrastructure and maintenance project on Tuesday as officials celebrated with a ceremony.
“We’re very excited this morning,” said Director of MIA, Ralph Cutie in a press release on Sunday.
VIP’s making it official on the site of what will become Park 6, MIA’s newest parking garage.
“This is the is the first expansion to the parking garages in decades,” said Cutie on opening day.
A new parking garage, that will be done by 2026, and a new on-airport hotel are also part of the initiative, representing a total investment of $1.693 billion in deferred maintenance projects. Additionally, the new structure will feature over 2,200 new stalls across seven levels and will be located right next to the Flamingo garage, adding nearly 900,000 square feet to the airport grounds.
“This facility will be resilient and it will meet international standards for sustainability with electric parking, charging stations with LED lights and other ways to reduce our environmental impact,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
In 2023, approximately 52.3 million people went through MIA, which was an 11% growth from 2022. Projections estimate 74 million travelers passing through MIA by 2040.
“Unfortunately, this powerful economic engine has been at the center of decades of neglected maintenance. But no more,” said Levine Cava.
The parking facility is part of an “unprecedented investment plan,” including a $130 million in a re-roofing project with solar panels, $681 million for modernization like elevators, escalators, and moving walkways, and $101 million in bathroom renovations.
“We want to make sure that we have an airport that is welcoming and it is putting our best foot forward,” said Miami-Dade commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera. “When folks come into our county as this is the first thing they see.”
Other improvements for travelers will include a re-roofing project, upgrades to restrooms, elevators, escalators and moving walkways. This is all part of a $7 billion capital improvement program to help lead MIA into the next chapter.
“We are so proud of this project,” said Cutie. “This project will kick MIA to the top of any international airport ranking.”
The Sky train is also ready to return to service this spring after necessary repairs are completed by the end of March. About 75% of the system will be functional.
“The project savings from this project will put us on the map to be one of the most energy-efficient airports in the country,” said Mayor Levine Cava.
The need for these investments arises from years of deferred maintenance at MIA, leading to the shutdown of the sky train and non-functional elevators.
Mayor Levine Cava addressed the delays on Sunday’s media release.
“Full replacement. That does take time. In other words, they could not be repaired. So they were not adequately maintained, they are too old. They — It was kicked to the curb, if you will,” explained the Miami-Dade mayor.
“One of the examples of how our, actually Ralph and previous leaders’ hands were tied, up until the most recent contract, the workers were not allowed to do work on our elevators. Escalators, and walking … On evenings and weekends. So, the time when the airport was actually slower, they were prohibited from doing work at that time,” said Jimmy Morales, Chief Operating Officer of Miami-Dade County.
The new parking garage will also include electric vehicle charging stations, energy-efficient LED lighting fixtures and a Parksmart Silver Certification design, indicating an environmentally-friendly structure for the future of MIA.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.