Replacing the Bridge at Cocoplum Circle

Photo from CommunityNewspapers.com / MiamiHerald.com

It seems like we have been talking about the bridge at Cocoplum Circle for a long time. You know the bridge in question: part of Le Jeune Road, it spans the Coral Gables Waterway, and rumors have swirled for years about its replacement. The bridge recently came up in conversation yet again, so I did a quick Google search and one of the many articles that came up was from the Miami Herald in 2017. Knowing that firetrucks and ambulances are not allowed to utilize the bridge for fear of its collapse under their weight, it seems discussing its eventual repair or replacement for three years has been an excessively long time!

From what I have read and heard recently, though, the bridge at Cocoplum Circle is, in fact, going to be replaced. The plan is to design a new one as soon as this fall, and then to construct it during the summer of 2022. If all goes smoothly then the bridge, which we all know is a major thoroughfare, would need to be shut down completely for 2-3 months. Hopefully doing this during the summertime will prevent traffic headaches. I have to imagine, though, that the neighbors whose streets will serve as a detour while the bridge is closed will not love this plan. However, replacing the bridge before there is a disaster is much more important than a traffic jam.