The Miami-Dade Public Transport Administration (MDT) and the Miami-Dade Department of Aviation have announced that AirportLink, a project to extend the Miami subway (Metrorail) to the international airport of the capital city of the State of Florida, will be inaugurated next 28 July after three years' work, in which the OHL Group has participated. This project was awarded in the first half of 2009, and was the first construction project granted to a Spanish company in the U.S. railway sector.
Announcement of the completed works and commissioning was made by the MDT Manager, Ysela Llort, and the Head of the Miami-Dade Department of Aviation, José Abreu.
These OHL works represent the first large-scale prolongation of Metrorail and have involved the construction of a two-lane overpass, 3.8 km. long, from the Earlington Heights station to Miami International Airport (MIA), joining the airport's Miami Intermodal Center (MIC). A three-level MIC passenger station for Metrorail has also been constructed.
Access to the Miami Intermodal Center means that Metrorail is connected to the MIA Mover, the means of transport used to finally access the airport. The connection of both transportation systems will provide Miami citizens with convenient and fast airport access using passenger railway transport.
Currently, Metrorail receives 60,000 passengers/day and the MDT expects this figure to increase by 12% with the start-up of the new section. Many of the 37,000 persons who work at Miami International Airport are expected to use this route.