By Susannah Bryan South Florida Sun Sentinel
Fort Lauderdale has toughened its stance in the long-running debate over whether to build a bridge or tunnel to get commuter trains across the New River, now saying a tunnel is the only option acceptable to the city.
That’s the latest move in what some fear might turn into a stalemate between Fort Lauderdale and Broward County over the fate of mass transit in South Florida.
The back and forth has some wondering whether either one will ever get built. That includes County Commissioner Steve Geller.
“I don’t think we’re going to reach a current agreement to get anything built over or under the river,” Geller told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Thursday. “The city seems pretty dug in and the county seems pretty dug in. I think we have a stalemate.”
Local officials are hoping the federal government will cover 50% of the project’s cost. The county and state would each pay 25%.
But experts have warned county and city officials that they might lose out on federal funding if they can’t agree on which option to take.
Broward Mayor Beam Furr says he’s worried that further delays will only result in higher costs.
“I’d much rather do this with them rather than without them,” Furr told the Sun Sentinel. “But all this delaying is making things more expensive. My hope is that we can come to a consensus on a bridge because that’s what I think we can afford.”
The region’s government officials envision a commuter rail line taking people from Miami all the way to Jupiter one day. But all those commuter trains will need to cross the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale by either going over a bridge or through a tunnel.
Mayor Dean Trantalis said he backs commuter rail but is not willing to sacrifice the city’s thriving downtown for the sake of a train bridge that might ruin it.
“I truly believe that rail travel is important,” Trantalis said before voting yes on the Dec. 17 resolution favoring a tunnel. “But I would never ever compromise the quality of life of our community just to satisfy the needs of other communities. Never will I compromise the people that live in our city in order to satisfy the needs of other cities.”
A year ago, Fort Lauderdale commissioners approved a different resolution saying the city preferred a tunnel but would accept a bridge if that was the wish of Broward County, whose commissioners will have the final say.
Why the change?
Former Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Warren Sturman, who cast the swing vote a year ago saying the city could live with a bridge, lost his District 4 seat when voters returned former Commissioner Ben Sorensen to the dais.
Sorensen is now backing Dean Trantalis and Steve Glassman in advocating for a tunnel.
All three voted in favor of a resolution on Dec. 17 that insists on a tunnel for commuter rail.
Commissioners John Herbst and Pamela Beasley Pittman both cast “no” votes.
“I’m not in favor of limiting our options strictly to the tunnel,” Herbst said. “We need to support rail in South Florida. We have to have a solution that gets us across the river. We have to connect Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade County. We cannot be the impediment to getting this done.”
But Sorensen told the Sun Sentinel he’s optimistic about working with the county to get a tunnel built.
It’s not the first time Sorensen has advocated for a train tunnel over a bridge.
Sorensen was on the dais in January 2022 when the Fort Lauderdale commission adopted its first resolution on the bridge-vs.-tunnel debate, urging the county to go with a tunnel to get commuter trains across the river.
Sorensen said he promised voters he’d keep on pushing for a tunnel if returned to office.
“It’s very clear the people of Fort Lauderdale do not want a massive bridge dissecting downtown,” Sorensen said. “I promised as soon as I got elected I would call for a new vote on the bridge tunnel debate. And that’s what we did.”
Sorensen said he’d like to see the city and county jointly apply for federal grants, including a $1.1 billion transportation grant offered by the Federal Rail Administration.
“I’m a big believer in working with the county to find funding solutions for the tunnel,” Sorensen said. “And I’m very confident we’re going to do it together.”
A bridge would cost taxpayers an estimated $500 million, experts say. A consultant working for Fort Lauderdale says the tunnel can be built for $880 million. A report commissioned by the county says the true cost of a tunnel would be nearly twice that at $1.5 billion.
“From the county perspective, it’s really not a matter of bridge vs. tunnel,” Geller said. “It’s simply a matter of dollars. Let’s say a tunnel can be done for $1 billion. The county would pay $250 million. The state pays $250 million and the feds pay $500 million. But if it comes to $1.4 billion (the county gets stuck paying another $400 million).
On Thursday, Furr argued that the bridge is really the way to go because it’s by far cheaper than a tunnel.
At this stage, Furr couldn’t say when work might begin on building a train crossing, whether it be a bridge or tunnel.
“My hope is we figure it out this year,” he said. “That is my goal as mayor, to get past this impasse.”
Trantalis, who has been championing the tunnel option for years, isn’t giving up.
“I think there is another alternative,” he said. “It’s affordable. It’s reasonable. And it’s available to us. And to ignore it makes no sense to me whatsoever.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
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