Kinney Tunnel partially reopens after high water shuts key traffic artery in downtown Fort Lauderdale

Downtown Fort Lauderdale experienced a bit more chaos than usual Tuesday morning after the city shut down the Kinney Tunnel due to high water amid a search for a burglary suspect and reports of an active shooter at the library.

The tunnel flooding and the search remained active well into Tuesday afternoon, while police determined the threat to the library to be false.

“The Kinney Tunnel is closed due to high water until further notice. Please use alternate routes,” the City of Fort Lauderdale said in a tweet about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. “We are experiencing flooding in some areas of the City due to king tides exacerbated by this weekend’s rainfall.”

The tunnel, which takes U.S. 1 beneath the New River and Las Olas Boulevard, partially reopened about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Earlier, the city deployed crews across Fort Lauderdale in “flood mitigation efforts,” using pumps to remove the water from the tunnel.

In the process, workers for the Florida Department of Transportation discovered damage to one of the permanent pumps, delaying the reopening until Tuesday evening.

“FDOT is working as quickly as possible to remove all water and to repair the damaged pump,” the department tweeted.

Less than a mile away, the Broward County Main Library shut down temporarily due to reports of an active shooter. Police determined there was no threat at the building at 100 S Andrews Ave.

“There was no active shooter at the Main Library,” library officials reported in a tweet. “The library was temporarily locked down, but police determined there was no threat in the building.”

In the meantime, Fort Lauderdale Police had also set up barricades downtown due to an active search for a vehicle burglary suspect, adding to the congestion caused by the tunnel closure and creating some confusion over what was causing what.

“The suspect fled from officers,” said Detective Ali Adamson, a spokesperson for Fort Lauderdale Police. “A perimeter was established and a search for the suspect was conducted. The suspect was not located. The investigation is ongoing.”