Golden Glades upgrades near completion; Sunshine Station pedestrian bridge faces yearslong schedule and new funding gap

Hermann Arenas, an ITD staff member, told the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust on Jan. 29 that the technology package for the Golden Glades multimodal facility is nearly complete and that Wi‑Fi and most camera and monitoring systems are already functional.

The technology update came as Lisa Comenari and Gabriela Serrado of the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) and Anna Race of DTPW’s planning division outlined work on the adjacent Sunshine Station and on pedestrian connections across the South Florida Rail Corridor. Serrado said the project’s preliminary engineering/design and environmental (PD&E) documentation is complete; Anna Race said the project has federal‑ or state‑level approvals tied to the funding sources.

Why it matters: The Golden Glades hub links municipal trolleys, county buses, Tri‑Rail and regional services. Technology such as CCTV, passenger information systems and facility Wi‑Fi can be put into service faster than complex property acquisition and bridge construction — which depend on design, right‑of‑way acquisition and permitting and therefore drive the project’s longer timeline.

Arenas said the ITD scope was “about 96% completed as of three weeks ago” and that about 200 new cameras and an APMS system are being added. He reported that Wi‑Fi at the facility is “100% functional.” The ITD work is being done in tandem with a county contractor and financed in part by People’s Transportation Plan (PTP) funds plus a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grant, he said.

But Serrado and Race said other pieces of the Sunshine Station project — a Kiss‑and‑Ride terminal, ramps and a new pedestrian bridge over the rail corridor and a separate replacement bridge over State Road 9 — remain in the project delivery phase. Race said the delivery method has recently changed from design‑build to design‑bid‑build, and that the county is beginning right‑of‑way engineering and designer procurement.

Race said cost increases for right‑of‑way acquisition have produced a new funding gap of roughly $5,000,000; she said the county is preparing an application for a regional TRIP grant to seek a roughly 50/50 split with FDOT to cover that gap. Race walked the trust through the schedule the project team presented: right‑of‑way engineering and acquisition work is expected to continue through mid‑2028; design completion is targeted in late 2028; and construction procurement and construction follow thereafter. She emphasized that property acquisition and business relocation could add years to the timeline.

DTPW staff also noted that the Southeast Florida Transportation Council put the project on a regional TRIP list and that the region gave the grant application full support.

Staff and trust members asked about whether parts of the facility could open before the bridges are finished. Serrado said the Golden Glades multimodal facility itself is in operation now and that some services (Tri‑Rail, regional buses) are already using the site; the new technology will improve security and passenger services immediately but the pedestrian and Kiss‑and‑Ride connections will require the longer schedule to complete.

What comes next: DTPW staff said they will continue right‑of‑way engineering, pursue the TRIP grant application to address the shortfall and proceed with designer procurement. The trust scheduled a site tour: staff said a tour of the Golden Glades facility is planned for Feb. 21, 2025, from 10 a.m. to noon.