On 2 December 2008 the first phase of the I-95 Express Lanes project was opened.

The act was presided over by the secretary of the Florida State Transportation Department, Stephanie Kopelousos, and boasted the attendance of Gus Pego, secretary of Florida State Transportation Department District 6, Kerry O'Hare, deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, Mario Diaz-Balart, congressman for Florida's 25th congressional district and member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Ysela Llort of Miami-Dade County. On FCC's behalf, attending the event were Pedro Chaves, manager of the North American Office, Eloy Sánchez-Cid, construction manager of FCC Construction, Inc., and Jesús M. de la Fuente, technical manager of FCC Construction, Inc.

Everyone involved in the presentation stressed how important the start-up of the project was for traffic in the Miami metropolitan area.

With the start-up of the first phase, the northbound roadway, drivers can choose between toll-free lanes and the two HOT (automatic toll) lanes. To use these barrier-free toll lanes, users will have to have a device called the Sunpass, which is automatically read, enabling motorists to pay automatically without having to stop at a toll gate.
The project, which has a budget of 121.5 million dollars, includes the widening of the roadways in both directions for 19 miles along highway I-95 in the Miami metropolitan area, so that instead of one HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lane, there will be two HOT (automatic toll) lanes, with the same number of toll-free lanes as before (three in some sections and five in others).
The contract also includes the installation of ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) communications systems and the toll systems, plus the enlargement of several existing structures in the area of the main junction, work to connect the different junctions and the construction of new road surfaces.
The two-part project will continue with Phase 1B, which includes the work on the southbound I-95.