Detour alert: U.S. 1 tunnel closing starts Monday in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale’s legions of commuters have already gotten the word. But there may be some motorists, particularly out-of-town visitors, who did not.

A five-day shutdown of the city’s venerable Henry E. Kinney tunnel on U.S. 1 is scheduled to start Monday as construction workers enter a key phase of a $28.4 million pedestrian plaza and improvement project.

For those who may have forgotten, the city sent reminders via email Sunday that the tunnel’s shutdown is imminent. Motorists will have to make alternate travel plans to cross the New River each day this week.

[ RELATED: Detour alert: Tunnel in downtown Fort Lauderdale closing to traffic starting on Monday ]

A “full road closure” of Federal Highway will be in place from Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 22, between SE 7th Street and Broward Boulevard.

In addition, Las Olas Boulevard “will be fully closed to traffic between SE 5th Avenue and SE 8th Avenue on Wednesday, July 20, with a contingency date of Thursday, July 21, if needed,” the city said in its latest announcement.

“Las Olas detours will be in place for these closures and traffic flow in the area will be heavily impacted,” the city said. “Detours will reroute traffic in the area, with electronic signs providing advance notice and clearly marked signage along the detour routes.”

Motorists traveling north and southbound will be routed to SE 3rd Avenue, with alternate routes along Andrews Avenue and SW 4th Avenue, the city said.

The tunnel, which opened more than six decades ago in 1960, replaced a bridge that motorists once used to cross the river. Now the tunnel is being extended by more than 100 feet to the north to allow for the building of a pedestrian plaza with fountains and landscaping above the traffic.

For more information about the project, visit the Florida Department of Transportation project page at ftlcity.info/us1tunnelpedproject.