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Hialeah streets director outlines $65M run of drainage, sidewalks and lighting projects
Summary
Streets Director Jose Sanchez told the council the department invested roughly $11.5 million in FY24 and more than $28.5 million in FY25 on roadway, drainage and sidewalk projects, and described an asset-management upgrade and plans to add vacuum trucks to improve stormwater response.
Streets Director Jose Sanchez and Assistant Director Yamil Alcazar briefed the Hialeah City Council on Sept. 9 about a multi-year capital program that officials said will improve drainage, add sidewalks and upgrade lighting across the city.
Sanchez said the city invested "over 11 and a half million dollars in capital improvements" in fiscal year 2024 and "over 28 and a half million dollars" in fiscal year 2025, counting road reconstruction, French drains, LED street lights and sidewalks. "Between 2024, '25, and what we're gonna do in '26, if the budget is approved, we could say we've invested $65,000,000 in rotary projects," he said.
Assistant Director Yamil Alcazar walked councillors through mapping and plans for 17 locations under construction or design, noting the department implemented a new asset-management system and mapped stormwater assets in 2024 to improve operations and transparency. He said the department also expanded its drain-cleaning fleet from two vacuum trucks to four and plans to add two more to triple cleaning capacity.
Council members raised trade-offs from reconstruction: narrower travel lanes and wider sidewalks have pushed some parking onto streets and swales. The police representative said the department will issue warnings and citations and has created a neighborhood resource team to enforce parking and traffic issues. Council members asked for follow-up on illegal dumping at a county annex area and whether budget lines will cover disposal costs if county partners stop accepting material.
What happens next: Council asked staff to return with budget line details and potential intergovernmental steps to address illegal dumping and collection capacity; several capital projects were approved to proceed to construction or second readings later in the budget cycle.
