Five years after a Metrorail sound-buffering barrier failed and caused systemwide delays, Miami-Dade commissioners last week agreed unanimously to contract changes that will not see the system’s sound buffers fully replaced for almost two more years.
The changes will raise the cost of the contracts more than $17.7 million to $83.4 million as the county orders replacement of all acoustical barriers on the line. The original contracts ordered replacement of only two-thirds – those in the worst condition.
Barriers being replaced are the originals on a rail line that opened in 1984. They have long passed their useful life. Engineering consultant Atkins advised the county in 2012 to remove them before they fell.
