Can new highway signs prevent wrong-way crashes in Miami-Dade? Here’s where they will go

The agency that controls Miami-Dade expressways is revamping “Wrong Way” signs on some highway ramps to help curtail crashes. The new flashing signs will warn drivers traveling in the wrong direction.

The $2.3 million project, paid for by Miami-Dade highway tolls, includes new smart signs backed by radar detection sensors and cameras. Once a wrong-way driver triggers the system, LED lights will flash while other signs warn oncoming traffic.

The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority controls the Airport Expressway, Dolphin Expressway, Don Shula Expressway, Snapper Creek Expressway and the Gratigny Parkway — all of which will get the updates at 26 ramps.

Since 2020, there have been three crashes on county-controlled expressways caused by drivers getting on the wrong side of the road. One led to a death.

In May, a pickup truck rammed into a semi truck head-on after the driver entered the wrong side of the Palmetto Expressway from the Gratigny Parkway. The driver of the pickup died.

Near the scene of the fatal crash, the expressway authority will enhance a wrong-way sign warning drivers going onto State Road 826 where the Gratigny meets the Palmetto.

The new warning system is meant to give drivers more visible warnings than traditional road signs, which will be taken down. They also will give a heads-up to traffic control centers that monitor live feeds, said Claudio Diaferia, assistant director of engineering at the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.

Once a wrong-way driver is spotted, traffic control will call the Florida Highway Patrol to the scene, he said.

The expressway authority also will put down new road markings to help drivers with visibility at night and during rainy weather.

Construction of the new warning system will start within a month, but drivers shouldn’t see road delays or detours, Diaferia said.

“At the most, we would be closing off a shoulder,” he said. “But we will never have to close a travel lane in order to install this.”

The expressway authority expects the sign project to be finished next summer.

Expressway ramp improvements

Dolphin Expressway

▪ NW 107th Ave.

▪ NW 17th Ave.

▪ NW 15th Ave.

▪ NW 87th Ave.

▪ NW 12th St.

▪ Milam Dairy Rd.

▪ NW 72 Ave.

Airport Expressway

▪ NW 21st St.

▪ NW 42nd Ave.

▪ NW 27th Ave.

▪ NW 22nd Ave.

▪ NW 39th St.

Gratigny Parkway

▪ NW 57th Ave.

▪ Douglas Rd.

▪ Hialeah Gardens Blvd.

Don Shula Expressway

▪ Killian Dr.

▪ SW 88th St.

▪ SW 40th St.

Snapper Creek Expressway

▪ SW 87th Ave.

▪ SW 72nd Ave.

▪ US 1

Palmetto Expressway

▪ Miami Lakes Dr.