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Plan To Extend 836 Expressway Headed To Court

WLRN Public Media

Published October 30, 2018 at 5:30 PM EDT

Miami-Dade County transportation planners want to extend the Dolphin Expressway beyond the urban boundary shown here along Southwest 157th Avenue.

A proposed extension of the 836 expressway in Miami-Dade County is headed to court.

On Monday, two environmental groups each filed lawsuits over plans to extend the expressway 14 miles south into the Kendall area.

The extension is intended to help relieve congestion that strands southwest Miami-Dade commuters in traffic for hours at a time. But the groups behind the lawsuits, the Tropical Audubon Society and Friends of the Everglades, are part of a coalition worried about impacts to the Everglades ecosystem and restoration projects.

If the highway goes ahead as planned, it will cross the county's urban development boundary -- an imaginary line intended to protect the Everglades from urban sprawl.

Read more from our news partner, the Miami Herald.