Broward commissioners prefer I-595 lanes not be elevated

With state transportation officials now looking at reversible toll lanes in the median of Interstate 595, Broward County commissioners told them that they would prefer that to elevated lanes.

Commissioners unanimously opposed elevated lanes Tuesday because of concern expressed among nearby homeowners about noise and pollution. "I want to strike a balance," Commissioner Lois Wexler said, noting an elevated road would be 30 feet in the air.

The state Department of Transportation had been planning to build elevated reversible lanes to ease congestion on I-595, but announced Monday that it is considering an alternative to use the median between Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 75.

The state had chosen elevated lanes because the median has room only for two lanes and because the median was supposed to be reserved for a future light rail line. Traffic forecasts show two additional lanes wouldn't be enough to keep pace with population growth.

Now state officials say there is room for three lanes, if westbound I-595 and westbound State Road 84 are shifted to the north next to the North New River Canal. If they choose to shift the current lanes, the planned light rail line will have to be elevated, most likely between eastbound I-595 and eastbound S.R. 84.

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