South Florida’s Aging Infrastructure: Land of Perils and Opportunities

Contractors, developers, designers, construction workers—nearly everyone in the construction industry throughout South Florida—should be prepared for a significant increase in infrastructure-related construction work. Notwithstanding, and perhaps in part because of, issues resulting from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, local governments seem to be prioritizing repairs and improvements to their ailing infrastructure systems. We’re seeing signs of this with roadway work in particular. Their rationale seems to be, why not repave a damaged roadway when no one is currently using it or where the use rate is significantly lower than normal?

Further, in the months immediately preceding COVID-19, water and sewer issues in South Florida were bubbling up, pun intended, with almost weekly news stories about sewer main breaks in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach. In Fort Lauderdale alone, millions of gallons of sewage were dumped into local rivers, resulting in over $1 million of fines from Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection Agency. This, combined with the problems associated with other aspects of an aging infrastructure system, has local residents starting to voice their concerns. But like with most problems, the solutions being discussed to address such conditions also create opportunities.

Local municipalities have had to come face to face with aging infrastructure issues, particularly the hard-hit city of Fort Lauderdale. In response, the city has created an Infrastructure task force to try and address these ever-expanding problems. The purpose of the task force, according to its website, is to “review existing city infrastructure … examine their current condition … identify the repair or replacement as well as funding sources and financing alternatives.” The task force work is not limited to sewer system issues. It has also been directed to consider all elements of a comprehensive infrastructure system. The task force, whose meetings are open to the public, meets every month at Fort Lauderdale city hall, and information developed from such meetings is published online. Their website and agenda provide a glimpse into the proposed solutions being considered. In fact, the meetings have already commenced with one on March 2 in which bridge and seawall issues were discussed.

Residents of Fort Lauderdale are making themselves heard on these issues by calling for a moratorium on new development until the aging infrastructure systems are repaired. However, a moratorium could have disastrous impacts on the local economy and job market, including of course the construction industry at large, not to mention the possible constitutional challenge of any such action by the constituency and local law makers. New development and construction projects within the city supply many jobs for area residents and businesses and are critical to the health of the local economy. However, whether or not a moratorium is imposed, infrastructure improvements remain critical and are likely to proceed forward.

Perhaps a more sensible approach to address the problem is reasonable cooperation and collaboration between the city and private developers throughout the approval and development processes before the project begins. A cooperative and collaborative process could create opportunities for the city and county to repair and replace underground infrastructure as part of a new development process. This approach could speed up delivery of infrastructure improvements and provide much needed relief to the city, while continuing to support development.

Solutions are currently being proposed by several municipalities working hard to solve them. As many readers may be aware, the city of Florida Lauderdale is currently installing a new main sewer pipe that is intended to handle the excess sewage currently overwhelming the existing main line. And the city is not planning to stop there. A 2017 consultant’s report prepared for the city recommended an additional $1.4 billion in improvements to repair the city’s infrastructure system problems, and the city has already pledged $600 million for such improvements. These planned improvements are to include bridge, road, and seawall repairs as well.

Indeed, the situation is not unique to the city of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. Like other counties across the country, Miami-Dade County maintains an active list of infrastructure projects on its website, which includes a long list of water and sewer capital improvement projects. The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department has indicated that it will “embark on a multi-billion dollar” capital improvement project over the next two decades to upgrade the county’s water and sewer infrastructure, which will improve sewer systems throughout the county.

Infrastructure projects throughout the state are also now being fast-tracked due to conditions resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. As mentioned above, the fact that significantly fewer drivers are on the roads has provided a unique opportunity for completing roadway projects, and the Florida Department of Transportation has decided to accelerate roughly $2.1 billion in road improvement projects. This includes the I-4 expansion project in Orlando, Howard Franklin Bridge Project in Tampa Bay, SR80 lane widening in Palm Beach County, I-395 reconstruction in Miami-Dade County, and SR200 project in Northern Jacksonville. Miami-Dade Department of Transportation is also in the process of developing a mass transit project for the Strategic Miami Rapid Transit (SMART) plan, anticipated to be completed within a year from its initiation.

The hope is that these massive infrastructure projects will be a boon for the civil contractors in South Florida. However, opportunities are developing rapidly and contractors must be prepared to respond to these opportunities rapidly as well. As a recent example, the city of Fort Lauderdale published a competitive bid solicitation on Dec. 23, 2019, for the design/build installation of the new redundant bypass line. The bidders had only one week to prepare their bids for what ultimately became a $61.5 million project that was awarded to two separate contractors. Those involved in the civil construction industry should be prepared for these new business opportunities in the weeks and months to come.

Brett J. Moritz is an associate with the national construction law firm Peckar & Abramson in Miami. He focuses on litigation issues including construction defects and construction dispute resolution.

Matthew H. Scott is a partner with Dunay, Miskel & Backman in Boca Raton and member of its land use and zoning practice group.