The traffic situation in the 305 is only going to get worse with the College Football Playoff National Championship game set to take place between Miami and Indiana on Monday. Expect a gridlock.
Fortunately, there are a few tips and tricks that might help you to avoid some of the chaos.
It is already difficult to get around the second-largest city in Florida on a regular afternoon in the middle of the week. It is going to be even harder to navigate the city as college football fans, media and administrators continue to arrive over the next 24-36-48 hours!
Miami is already at capacity.
Approximately 500,000 people live in the actual city of Miami which, all things considered, is really not that many. Just to compare, New York City has over eight million residents.
However, it is not fair to talk about Miami as only Miami. The greater metropolitan area also includes places like Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Coral Gables, Hialeah, and even Pompano Beach and Boca Raton. You could also include cities like Jupiter and West Palm Beach if you really want to get crazy.
All of this is to say that “Miami” is much bigger (and busier) than a map would suggest. Especially during the months of December, January, February and March.
The northern snowbirds have moved south for the winter so the city is already at maximum capacity. And then you add in a Miami Heat game on Saturday, Florida Panthers home game on Monday evening and the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday night. People have places to be. They all have to get there at the same time.
College football fans can try to avoid traffic.
Traffic in Miami is notoriously bad. An aging road system that struggles to keep up with the rapid growth in population and standard development leads to constant construction. ~85% of residents commute by car, which creates a gridlock. Heavy tourism adds even more people into the mix.
Key congestion points include I-95, the Palmetto Expressway and the Dolphin Expressway, but you could get stuck sitting bumper-to-bumper on almost any road in the city at any hour of the day depending on various factors. Miami traffic simply does not care.
Miami traffic doses not care pic.twitter.com/7EDkbY9MaC
— $Xrp_Gordy (@xrpgordy) January 16, 2026
And it certainly doesn’t help when roads are closed off from the general population like they were on Friday evening. The Miami Hurricanes football team needed a police escort to its hotel so cars were held at a complete stop on the Dolphin Expressway during the start of rush hour traffic!
Motorcade on the move #GoCanes https://t.co/TIrcBlfCbu pic.twitter.com/IyXVY1LNq6
— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) January 16, 2026
Many college football fans an reporters are making their first-ever trip to Miami. Especially those from Indiana. They are very quickly finding out just how hard it can be to get around.
Although there is no guaranteed way to avoid a slowdown, especially if you are moving by car, there are a few tricks. Ubers and Lyfts are cheap but you might get stuck in traffic. Same with Freebee.
If you are trying to avoid traffic, the metrorail and metromover will get you pretty much everywhere you need to go. The trolley is not quite as helpful but it can often avoid some of the headache. Electric scooters and Citi bikes provide a quicker way of getting around for short distances.
There may not be a sure-fire way to defeat Miami traffic but the ‘GO Miami-Dade Transit‘ app is a good place to start. Otherwise, you must mentally prepare to spend a lot of time in the car. It depends on the time of day but your trip will likely take longer than you expect.