Miami Beach is close to starting its own review of the stalled bridge promised next to Five Park, at 500 Alton Road. But commissioners heard Wednesday that the study could take up to a year, and they pushed for speed.

The update came at the city's Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee. Members heard two bridge items together: a monthly status report and a look at replacing the bridge with an over-water walkway. The committee took no vote. Commissioner Laura Dominguez, who sponsors the monthly report, asked to bring it back next month.

The outside review

David Gomez, the city's capital improvement projects director, said the city has finished the scope of work for an independent consultant and is reviewing the firm's early cost estimate. He said the city hopes to issue the work order in the next week or two.

The firm will answer three questions, according to a city staff memo: Can the bridge be built as designed? If not, can its foundations be changed so it fits in the same spot? And if neither works, what are the alternatives? The memo names the firm as Stantec. The city is still checking Stantec for possible conflicts of interest before it signs.

Stantec estimates the study would take nine to 12 months if the bridge can't be built as designed, or four to six months if a fix turns up early. The project's construction schedule shows the bridge done in fall 2027, but that date does not count the study or any redesign.

One committee member said residents have waited too long and the city cannot spend nine or 12 months studying the bridge.

Who pays

The same committee member said any added cost from a workaround or alternative should fall on the developer, not taxpayers. Mayor Steven Meiner said the commission already voted to hold the developer accountable for paying, pointing to his Sept. 10 resolution that ordered the review. Dominguez said colleagues backed her resolution at the last commission meeting to tighten future development agreements.

Meiner also raised the construction zone left at the site. Gomez said the city has told the developer it wants the area cleaned up and planted with sod so it looks less like a construction site.

The over-water option

To get enough headroom under the causeway, a walkway would have to reach about 300 feet or more into the bay, for a segment of about 700 feet, the staff memo says. Using prices from the city's recent 1250 West Avenue deal, it puts the cost at $24.5 million to $28 million. The current agreement caps the city's share of the bridge at $10 million from the 2018 G.O. bond, with the developer covering the rest. A roughly $3 million grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District may not carry over to a new design.

Permits could take years. The memo lists federal, state and county reviews, seagrass and coral surveys, and new rules tied to the queen conch, now a federally threatened species.

What the developer says

In an Aug. 21 letter to the city, a lawyer for developer TCH 500 Alton said deep FPL power lines leave no room for the bridge's footings. The letter said the developer is convinced moving the lines is not feasible, so ending the bridge project and building a baywalk instead "appears to be the only workable path forward." It said the developer has spent nearly $2.7 million of its own money on the bridge.

The lawsuit

Five Park's master association and Jay H. Newman, as trustee, sued the developer and the city in federal court Oct. 13 to get the bridge built. The court docket shows summonses issued Oct. 14 and two notices of attorney appearance filed Oct. 20. City officials did not discuss the case at the meeting.