We recently uncovered this time-lapse video of the Port of Miami Tunnel (POMT), featuring the use of a 43-foot diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM) to excavate both tubes. The video shows the holing through and dismantling of the equipment. The POMT is a public-private partnership (PPP) designed to transfer the responsibility to design-build-finance-operate-and-maintain (“DBFOM”) the project to the private sector. It is a technically challenging project that attracted three bidding consortia comprised of several of the most technically sophisticated and financially sound constructors and financiers in the world.
The total cost of design and construction of the tunnel was set at $668.5 million. The state agreed to pay for 50 percent of the capital costs (design, construction) and all of the operations and maintenance, while the remaining 50 percent of the capital costs is provided by Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami.
Construction began May 24, 2010. Mining of the Tunnels began November 11, 2011 and was completed on May 6, 2013. The project was open to traffic on August 3rd, 2014.
