County to add more elevators in Metrorail garage

Miami-Dade commissioners have approved spending $41.8 million to improve the Dadeland North Metrorail Station parking garage area.

The funds are for the “comprehensive rehabilitation and modernization” of the station garage at 8300 S Dixie Hwy., including the installation of more elevators.

The contract was awarded to Magnum Construction Management of Cutler Bay. The company has 84 employees, and more than 80% live in Miami-Dade County. Five firms bid on the project. Magnum was chosen after the total cost was reduced by more than $4.7 million.

The project, expected to take about 3½ years, includes:

■Installation of two new elevators on the northern end of the garage.

■Construction of a new pre-fabricated bus operator supervisor’s booth.

■Addition of a new canopy along the eastern side of the garage.

■Installation of new CCTV cameras.

■Implementation of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting.

■Installation of new emergency call buttons.

■Modernization of the four existing elevators in the central elevator lobby.

■Replacement of expansion joints.

■Installation of 10 dual-port Level 2 vehicle charging stations on the second level.

■Comprehensive overhaul and renewal of the existing parking garage, covering all architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural repairs.

Use of the station has increased substantially since it opened in 1984, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a report to commissioners, “requiring infrastructure improvements.”

The project is part of the People’s Transportation Plan Bond Program’s 2024-2028 five-year plan.

Increased ridership at the station, the mayor’s report states, has taken its toll on the existing bank of four elevators, providing an unacceptable level of “service during peak hours, creating congestion and long waiting periods.”

Modernizing the four existing elevators, the report said, would “include changes to the controls, elevator machine room equipment and cab renovations, and modern ‘learning’ elevator technology.”

“Learning” technology, according to a report on www.otis.com, refers “to the application of advanced algorithms, artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize” performance.

Magnum “has previous contracting history with the county,” as reported by the Small Business Development Division of the Internal Services Department.

All but a $1.3 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation would come from the People’s Transportation Plan bond program funded by the county’s half percent sales surtax to add transportation.