A free pop-up event Thursday, Oct. 15, gives Key Biscayne residents their first look at a scaled model of the proposed Rickenbacker Causeway overhaul. The project, known as "The Shoreline," would reshape the aging causeway with a viaduct, new beaches and safer paths for cyclists and pedestrians.

The Key Biscayne Community Foundation (KBCF) is hosting the gathering from 1 to 4 p.m. at 3602 Rickenbacker Causeway, directly across from MAST Academy, according to the Islander News. The open-air event is free and open to residents, students and visitors.

Attendees can view the proposed shoreline on project boards, explore a sandbox model and talk directly with urban designer Juan Mullerat of PlusUrbia, the Miami firm shaping the design. Organizers said they want public feedback while there is still time to influence the project's direction. Ping-pong, cornhole and a beach lounge with a local vendor round out the afternoon.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado has championed the concept, which calls for a split-level viaduct over Virginia Key that would separate vehicle traffic from pedestrians and cyclists, create new public beaches and potentially connect to the Underline linear park.

The Village of Key Biscayne Council voted 6-1 in November 2025 to commit up to $950,000 for a feasibility study through a memorandum of understanding. The funds cover a seven-step process over nine months to evaluate whether the project makes sense financially, environmentally and from a transportation standpoint.

Mayor Joe Rasco backed the spending. "If it's for Key Biscayne, it's Key Biscayne money to study this … no one really cares about our issue," Rasco said at the November 2025 meeting. "If the dream is not feasible, then we go to plan B."

Council Member Ed London cast the lone dissenting vote. He said the project lacked a ballpark cost estimate and warned the $950,000 would likely be the "first ask."

At the federal level, Miami-Dade County secured a $996,300 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Build America Bureau to hire financial advisors who will analyze delivery methods for the causeway's long-term development, maintenance and operation, according to a county resolution. The county applied in October 2025 and learned of the award in June 2026. The grant requires no local match and runs through November 2029.

The causeway includes four bridges. Bear Cut Bridge, built in 1944, is classified as functionally obsolete and requires frequent major repairs, according to a county memorandum cited by the Islander News in September 2026. Estimates from about a year before that report put the cost of rehabilitating or replacing the bridge between $60 million and $100 million.

KBCF Executive Director Melissa White wrote in a September 2026 commentary that all the projects planned for Virginia Key and the causeway depend on the road system working first.

The pop-up requires no registration. Residents who cannot attend can follow the project through the KBCF at kbcf.org.