Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel A. Regalado is promoting “The Shoreline,” a proposal to redesign the Rickenbacker Causeway with an elevated roadway, more green space and safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

The concept would reshape the corridor linking Key Biscayne and Virginia Key to the mainland. A Community Newspapers report published Oct. 16 describes goals that include improving traffic flow, expanding public recreation space and strengthening coastal resilience.

Those are proposed benefits. The project remains under study; the funding commitments described below do not authorize construction.

A viaduct and green space

The design draws inspiration from The Underline, the linear park beneath Miami-Dade’s elevated Metrorail tracks. An overhead viaduct would separate through traffic from activities at ground level, according to reporting by the Key Biscayne Independent published by WLRN.

Designer Plusurbia describes the concept as separating regional through traffic onto an elevated viaduct while keeping local access, protected bike lanes and pedestrian promenades at ground level. Its project page identifies the work as an ongoing concept and feasibility study.

Village backs feasibility work

The Key Biscayne Village Council voted 6-1 on Nov. 18, 2025, to commit $950,000 for advisory services through Friends of The Underline, according to the Key Biscayne Independent’s report published by WLRN. The money supports evaluating the concept’s feasibility.

Council member Ed London opposed the expenditure, questioning whether the village should commit that money without a ballpark estimate for the full project.

Mayor Joe Rasco supported spending village money to determine whether the proposal is feasible, according to the same report.

Grant pays for analysis

Separately, county commissioners adopted Resolution R-790-26 on Oct. 6, 2026, authorizing a cooperative grant agreement for up to $996,300 from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau.

The county memorandum says the grant requires no local match and covers financial advice on options for developing, maintaining and operating the causeway. Its performance period runs from Nov. 16, 2026, through Nov. 15, 2029.

The work includes evaluating costs, benefits, financing and potential project delivery methods. It will proceed alongside technical and environmental review and culminate in a report for county and transportation officials.

The grant funds financial analysis of the Rickenbacker Causeway’s long-term needs and delivery options; it does not approve construction of The Shoreline design. Any later capital-project procurement would require separate County Commission approval, as applicable, according to the memorandum. The documents reviewed do not establish a construction start date or final cost for The Shoreline.