The Miami-Dade County Commission approved Dec. 18 a City of Miami-proposed public works package that includes $50 million for the city’s share of the nearly $1-billion Port of Miami Tunnel project.

The proposal passed by a 9-4 vote. Details on certain aspects of the plan remain to be worked out, says Ric Katz, Port of Miami spokesman. The plan requires moving the city’s OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency boundaries to include the tunnel, which is designed to route port traffic out of downtown.

Concessionaire Miami Access Tunnel, an international consortium headed by Bouygues Travaux Publics of France, will design, build, finance, maintain and operate the 3,900-ft-long, 36-ft-diameter, two-lane bored tunnels for the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT). At the end of 35 years, the tunnel becomes the property of the state.

Miami Access agreed to extend the validity of its proposal to December 17. The county commission vote took place one day later. Katz was unsure how that might affect the deal. He says the next step should be final negotiations between FDOT and Miami Access, a process expected to take 60 days. Construction could start within six months.

FDOT will pick up half of the capital costs, $457.5 million, and $200 million for operation and maintenance. Miami-Dade County has committed to $402.5 million. FDOT will pay Miami Access $100 million for meeting certain construction milestones during the 47-month schedule, $350 million upon completion of the job, and an annual Maximum Availability Payment of $33,234,692 once the tunnel opens.

The city still needs to sign a formal memorandum of agreement with the FDOT, but Katz did not expect that would be a problem.