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MDX Looks Into Converting Busway Into Commuter Express Lanes

MIAMI (CBS4) – Commuters who drive the traffic congested S. Dixie Highway in Miami-Dade County every day know how frustrating it can be to see those empty Busway lanes. Most drivers probably daydream about breezing down the Busway without any traffic hassles.

Now, that daydream may become a reality. The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) has launched a study analyzing potential redevelopment of the S. Dixie Highway (US1) Busway to create express lanes for daily commuter use, according to CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald.

Two public meetings have already taken place where municipal officials and community activists heard details from Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) consultant Alan S. Brick-Turin about plans to create SunPass express lanes using the existing US1 Busway route.

The proposal is designed to relieve congestion on S. Dixie Highway between Dadeland and Florida City.

The two-year Project Development and Environmental Study is designed to offer alternative use of the Busway to alleviate US1 traffic tie-ups, improve transit operations and preserve the existing pedestrian-bicycle Greenway that runs parallel to the bus route.

A projected time line for the MDX study would produce "a build or no build" decision by November 2013, according to Brick-Turin.

A series of workshops and public meetings are expected to be held "to determine if a specific proposal or alternatives are feasible and can be funded," said Brick-Turin.

Technical workshops will also take place in 2012 to review potential widening of the Busway route to maintain managed lanes for both current bus service as well as transponder- paid express automobile lanes.

Final recommendations on the corridor improvements are scheduled to be presented during a formal public hearing anticipated to take place by summer of 2013.

The study area extends from SW 344th Street/Palm Drive to a point just north of where the Snapper Creek Expressway (SR 878) meets US1.

The Busway route runs along the west side of S. Dixie Highway across from Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay.

For details on the MDX project, visit www.MDXORT.com.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report.)

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