Tamiami Trail Restoration The Project: In 2005, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers devised a plan to erect an Everglades Skyway - an 11-mile bridge to replace part of the road just west of Miami. But, Congress eventually allocated enough funds to construct a one-mile bridge in 2008. After the preconstruction and design phase of the one-mile bridge plan was complete, an $81 million contract was approved in 2008 and groundbreaking took place in December 2009. In addition to the bridge construction, plans are being evaluated for an additional series of bridges and/or elevations of the Tamiami Trail to facilitate additional water flow. This effort will be critical to the recovery of the Everglades and Florida Bay. Everglades Foundation scientists see the one-mile bridge as a critical first step to improve water flow through the barrier. "Our scientists will be monitoring the impact of improved water flow along Tamiami Trail. One area of particular interest is the effect of improved water flow on highly toxic mercury levels," says Van Lent. The fluctuating mercury levels will help scientists understand how the introduction of more fresh water will affect the ecosystem. That will help government agencies make enlightened decisions on restoration. "If we do restoration, we don't want to do anything with unintended consequences," adds Van Lent. The Future The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in May 2010 that recommends an additional 5.5 miles of bridging on Tamiami Trail in addition to the one mile of bridging currently under construction to restore natural water flows to the Everglades. The new bridging would create an opportunity to restore up to 100 percent of the historic volume and distribution of water that used to flow southward into Northeast Shark River Slough before the Trail was constructed. If completed, the additional bridging would eliminate the hydrologic constraints throughout much of the southern Everglades, including the Water Conservation Areas and Everglades National Park. For more information on the draft EIS visit: http://parkplanning.nps.gov. The Tamiami Trail bridge is part of a larger effort to "de-compartmentalize" the Everglades to restore the natural flow of the River of Grass. While the Everglades will never be restored to its once pristine state, projects such as the Tamiami Trail bridge are part of a solution to allow the Everglades to benefit from free-flowing water which could revitalize plant and animal populations and sustain the water supply for South Florida's human inhabitants. "We're on a track to demonstrating really tangible results in the saga of Everglades restoration," says Van Lent. "We're putting a big hole in the dam."