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Miami Beach committee presses FPL after unmarked high‑voltage lines stall 5th Street pedestrian bridge
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Summary
City staff and the developer told the committee that drilling for the 5th Street pedestrian bridge struck previously unlocated FPL high‑voltage duct bank, halting work and prompting repeated locates; commissioners asked staff to bring FPL to next week’s commission meeting and consider pausing easement approvals to preserve leverage.
Alex Fernandez, chair of the City of Miami Beach Public Safety & Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee, pressed the developer and utility company to resolve a safety and timeline problem after crews struck an unmarked high‑voltage Florida Power & Light duct bank while advancing foundations for the 5th Street pedestrian bridge.
The project team told the committee that the building department issued a certificate of completion for portions of the BayWalk in late 2025, but piling work this winter hit a previously unidentified utility. "It turns out it was FPL," David Gomez, director of the city's Capital Improvements Program, told the committee. Consultants said that FPL locates had shifted across three rounds of markings, and one line was found in a different place when a pilot hole was drilled.
Alice Bravo, the project consultant, described the required process under state law for digging and locating utilities: "Under state law, anyone that's going to dig or excavate is supposed to call 811 and each utility company is supposed to come out and mark their utilities." She said FPL had returned with upgraded equipment and remarking after the strike, but the inconsistent locates have required the developer to stop work and consider redesign options.
The development team warned commissioners that redesigns to accommodate utility locations and the resulting permitting cycles could add substantial delay. The developer observed that permitting and foundation redesigns had already contributed to delays and that repeating the process could add roughly a year to construction timelines.
Commissioners emphasized safety and leverage. Chair Alex Fernandez said the bridge is funded by general‑obligation bonds and called for a near‑term solution: "This is important infrastructure... we need to move forward with this." He asked staff to request FPL representatives attend next week's city commission meeting and to place previously approved easements on the agenda for discussion or possible reconsideration if they have not yet been executed.
City staff said FPL had offered to perform another round of locates and had brought more precise equipment. Jose Gomez and project staff agreed to work with FPL and the developer to determine whether foundations can be built as designed or must be revised. The committee directed staff to return with clearer timeline scenarios (best case, base case) and to brief commissioners on the status and potential calendar impacts.
Next steps: staff will follow up with FPL and the developer, report on the status of easement documents and locates, and present timeline options and feasibility findings to the commission. The committee signaled support for placing easement approvals for discussion at next week's commission meeting to secure leverage and require FPL engagement.
