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Miami’s Ghost Trail: A Decade After Approval, the Ludlam Trail Is Still Mostly Fences
Miami-Dade has spent tens of millions on a nearly six-mile path through the west side of the county, and finally hired a designer this summer. Neighbors are still waiting for a single continuous mile they can walk. Drive along Southwest 69th Avenue in west Miami-Dade and you’ll see it: a long, narrow strip of land running behind backyards and strip malls, mostly hidden behind chain-link fence. It’s the old Florida East Coast Railway corridor, and for years it has been the future site of the Ludlam Trail, a 5.6-mile path for walkers, runners and cyclists. It was supposed to be one of the county’s signature green projects, a cousin to the Underline in Brickell. Instead, it has become a case study in how slowly big public projects move in South Florida. Years of promises Miami-Dade approved the Ludlam Trail plan in 2015. In 2018, county commissioners approved buying the rail property for about $24.6 million. A groundbreaking ceremony followed in 2021. Advocates say the county has spent roughly $42 million on the project so far. Yet most of the corridor remains closed. In 2024, the county’s parks department said construction was expected to start in fall 2026. That hasn’t happened. A nearly two-year search for a design firm dragged on without a signed contract until July, when county commissioners unanimously approved a $9.5 million contract to design the trail. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called the vote a “significant milestone.” “A significant milestone.” — Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, on the trail’s design contract What’s slowing it down Part of the problem is what’s in the ground. The corridor carried freight trains for decades, and sections are fenced off because of soil contamination. Several brownfield sites have to be cleaned up or capped before anyone can build a path on top of them, adding time and cost. The trail also has to cross some of the busiest roads in the county. The Florida Department of Transportation has agreed to design and build pedestrian bridges over Flagler Street, Southwest Eighth Street and Bird Road. A fourth bridge, over Coral Way, is being built by a private developer under an agreement with the county, connected to a new senior housing project next to the corridor. And money remains an open question. The county’s current budget sets aside about $11.7 million for construction and land acquisition and $750,000 for planning and design, but officials have not announced a total cost or a full plan to pay for it. The city of Miami is now considering whether to fund its share of the project, Miami Today reported this week. Neighbors want a date A small section south of Bird Road is already open, built as part of private development along the corridor. For everyone else, the trail is still a promise. Advocates have revived a group called Friends of the Ludlam Trail and are pressing county staff for firm dates and dollar figures. Critics also worry about developer “nodes” that replace pieces of the public trail with private construction. The stakes go beyond recreation. West Miami-Dade is one of the most car-dependent parts of the county, with few safe places to walk or bike. A finished Ludlam Trail would create a continuous green spine from near Northwest Seventh Street down to Southwest 80th Street, connecting neighborhoods, schools and parks. What comes next With a designer finally hired, the next steps are finishing the design, lining up construction money and setting a schedule, none of which has been announced. Until then, the Ludlam Trail remains what one local outlet called a “ghost trail”: a ribbon of fenced-off land with a lot of history and not much path.