New I-595 brings relief, but rainwater leaves portions of SR-84 underwater

FDOT officials trying to figure out why water pools into lanes when it rains

DAVIE, Fla. – The new Interstate 595 express lanes are bringing relief to rush hour drivers, but in some areas daily downpours are bringing that billion dollars worth of progress to a halt.

Rainwater runoff from all the new lanes of asphalt is leaving portions of State Road 84, which parallels the highway, underwater.

Local 10 viewers captured the dangerous drive during last Friday's deluge.

Local 10 has learned officials with the Department of Transportation are trying to figure out why the water is pooling in the lanes when it rains. We're told they're looking at whether the underground pumps and pipes that carry the rainwater runoff to the Lago Mar golf course are working correctly.

Another potential issue is development. In the original plan the state was going to use a portion of vacant property on West Broward Boulevard for drainage. But since then a community with more than a dozen homes was built.

A small section of the land is still set aside for rainwater runoff, but it's also handling the excess runoff from the new homes.

Officials said it's also possible the amount of rain that fell last Friday in such a short amount of time was just too much for any system to handle.

FDOT engineers declined to speak about the issue publicly Tuesday. They advise drivers to treat I-595 like any other highway in South Florida when it rains -- drive slowly, pay attention and use caution.