Trump Admin Slashes Funding for Signature Bridge Overtown Park

The City of Miami will no longer receive the millions of dollars in federal funding it was slated to receive to develop the Overtown park underneath the Signature Bridge project.

In March 2024, the Biden administration allocated $60 million to the city to help build the mile-long park under the $866 million new I-395/SR 836/I-95 Project, which will elevate and reconstruct I-395 and increase capacity on SR 836, I-95, and I-395. The federal grant from the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant was meant to address the lasting impacts of highway construction in the 1960s. Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" halted the release of the funding that was meant to reunite the highway-divided historically Black neighborhood of Overtown.

"The funding is aimed at reconnecting communities that were cut off by transportation infrastructure decades ago, leaving entire neighborhoods without direct access to opportunity, like schools, jobs, medical offices, and places of worship," the March 2024 press release stated.

According to the project description, the Underdeck will be a 33-acre park on the street level under the new elevated I-395 highway currently under construction. The mile-long "Heritage Trail" will also link Overtown to Biscayne Bay. The Underdeck was one of more than 130 projects receiving the Reconnecting Communities grants.

"The Underdeck will provide a safe place for walking, jogging, biking, and scooting, encouraging non-vehicular transportation options, while improving quality of life, economic vitality, and social equity for all through the creation of an environmentally sustainable and resilient urban landscape," the description continues.

Last spring, the city commission voted to rename the Underdeck the "Rev. Edward T. Graham Greenway," in honor of the civil rights activist and former commissioner. However, park construction cannot officially begin until the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Signature Bridge project is completed.

In late July, FDOT quietly pushed back the completion date of the controversial bridge project from 2027 to late 2029. The project costs have also jumped from $818 million to $866 million. The joint venture between FDOT and the Greater Miami Expressway Agency will create a new double-decked SR 836, a new connector ramp from southbound I-95 to SR 836, and a signature bridge with "six sweeping arches" that residents say closely resemble McDonald's golden arches.

The Underdeck is expected to cost $83 million. The city and FDOT were set to cover the $23 million not covered by the federal grant. The Miami Herald reported that the city received notice about the halt in funding last week.