The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on Tuesday night denied a request by the multinational firm building the Port of Miami tunnel for an additional $67.5 million from a project reserve fund to prepare the soil beneath Biscayne Bay before boring of the underground roadway begins in October.

The disclosure of the denial by FDOT was a blow to Miami Access Tunnel (MAT), the concessionaire in charge of the project, which was asking for the money to cover extra work related to reinforcing the porous limestone subsoil with grout so the boring process is more stable. The request for the money alarmed the new Miami-Dade mayor, Carlos Gimenez, and county commissioners when the issue first emerged at the commission meeting on July 7.

This is the second time in recent months that FDOT has denied requests from MAT for money from the $150 million reserve fund. The prior request for $27 million to modify the tunnel boring machine was denied earlier.

MAT was seeking the money, $67.5 million for the subsoil grouting project and $27 million for the machine, on the ground that geological conditions that its experts found in the bay are different from what FDOT had previously found. FDOT disagrees with the MAT finding.

“A preliminary review of the notices by FDOT experts indicates that a changed geological condition does not exist and therefore the concessionaire is not entitled to accessing the reserve,” said FDOT Miami spokesman Brian Rick. “FDOT has denied the requests and will continue to follow the steps required by the contract.”

According to officials familiar with the project, the $45 million tunnel boring machine operates better when it cuts through solid rock. But MAT experts say they have found the limestone under Biscayne Bay to be extremely porous, and

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