The natural southward flow of water into the Everglades has been blocked by Tamiami Trail – that’s U.S. 41 – since the late 1920s. Congress recognized the need to mitigate the problem about 30 years ago, but it wasn’t until this decade that projects to raise the road got underway.
While several miles of bridges are now complete, the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced it’s putting $60-million dollars toward the effort. That, coupled with $40-million dollars in state funding included in this year’s budget, should allow the project to elevate the final required stretch of the roadway to be complete in the next few years. Once complete, an estimated 75 billion more gallons of water will flow south into the Everglades and onward to Florida Bay, every single day. We get the latest from Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation.
