In a proud moment for the city of Miami Beach, Fla., the public works department has received two coveted Project of the Year awards from the Florida Chapter of the American Public Works Association, highlighting its innovative approach to infrastructure challenges and community-focused urban design.

The department was honored in both the water/wastewater and beautification/landscaping categories, recognizing its critical 41^st Street water main replacement and the visually transformative Indian Creek Drive landscaping project. These two undertakings, while vastly different in scope and purpose, reflect a shared commitment to long-term sustainability, aesthetic integrity and community resilience.

The 41st Street water main replacement project was born from necessity. As construction manager Matthew LaPera explained, the existing 20-inch main, a crucial pipeline serving a substantial portion of the community east of the Indian Creek Canal, was aging and in urgent need of replacement. When a Florida Department of Transportation companion project on the canal crossing demanded the old pipe be removed, the city saw an opportunity to innovate rather than simply react.

“This was one of our critical needs,” said LaPera. “It was planned, but ended up getting expedited due to the needs of the FDOT. We didn’t want to just remove and disrupt, at that point: We wanted to make a lasting improvement and investment.”

Rather than tear up the road and waterway, engineers employed horizontal directional drilling technology to install the new pipe beneath the canal. This method significantly minimized surface disruption and allowed work to be conducted mostly at night, helping the city manage traffic flow along 41^st Street, which is normally a key road in and out of Miami Beach. And while the public wasn’t directly involved in the design process, there was outreach and transparency throughout construction, including a groundbreaking ceremony with the mayor.

The entire project was completed in about six months. It came in on time, despite tight deadlines posed by FDOT. The new water main is expected to serve the area reliably for the next 70 to 100 years.

After completing restoration and abandoning the old pipeline, everything is back to normal at this point: Traffic is flowing, the pipe is fully operational, and the neighborhood is better equipped for the future.

“We did a good job managing it all,” LaPera noted. “It’s a major win for the department and the city overall.”

While the water main project addressed the unseen, the city’s beautification and landscaping initiative along Indian Creek Drive transformed the visible. It created a serene, functional and inviting linear park along a particularly busy stretch of waterfront.

This project, led by Assistant Public Works Director Rodney Knowles, was part of a broader roadway elevation and seawall reconstruction designed to address sea-level rise and coastal flooding. But the city knew from the start that those infrastructure changes would need to be paired with softer, natural elements to ensure the area’s charm remained and flourished, while providing residents with a space that was both practical and pleasing.

The vegetated buffers previously in place served dual roles: They blocked noise and provided visual delight through framed vignettes of the water at various points of the drive.

“Some vegetation had to be disturbed during the work,” Knowles said. “But it was always the city’s intent to bring it back. Not just restore it, but to rethink it and redesign it.”

Before construction progressed, residents began asking what the new space would look like. The city brought in a landscape architect and held discussions with residents from both sides of the waterway to ensure that all community voices were considered during the design stages.

Although there were differing opinions, in the end, a creative compromise was reached. The final design was not a single green wall and not a fully open view, but a series of thoughtfully grouped plantings. The design offers a variety of heights, textures and colors on the west side, which provides a lush backdrop for private properties in the area: The east side remains more open and interactive, allowing greater visual engagement with the water.

Pedestrian accessibility was also considered within the Indian Creek Drive transformation. Although constrained by the canal and seawalls, the team incorporated short pedestrian paths and dedicated crosswalks, making the area not just beautiful, but walkable. What was once a standard right-of-way has been reimagined as a unique linear park experience.

Now complete, the landscaping is thriving. “The shrubbery is growing nicely, beds are knitting together, and the trees, though still young, are taking off,” said Knowles. “We did lose maybe five trees originally, which is to be expected, but they’ve already been replaced.”

Resident feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from those who were initially skeptical. “The east side enjoys a beautiful change in their view,” he noted, “while the west side now has a vibrant natural canvas behind their homes.”

These two award-winning projects are just a snapshot of a city in motion. The public works department currently has over 40 projects under construction and more than 80 in design, including pipeline installation on the Venetian Causeway and a major pump station restoration.

Yet, as Knowles and LaPera emphasized, what sets the 41^st Street water main replacement and the Indian Creek Drive landscaping project apart, beyond their engineering and environmental achievements, is their people-centered design. Whether ensuring reliable water service or creating a tranquil urban greenspace, the efforts reflect a new era for Miami Beach, one where infrastructure meets inspiration.

“This wasn’t something we’d done before,” Knowles said. “It was unique. It was challenging. But in the end, it was exciting, and worth it.”

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