Kinney Tunnel finally reopens — and someone paints graffiti above it

Commuters awoke on Sunday to graffiti elaborately sprayed across four lanes of the Kinney Tunnel. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis joked, "I guess someone thought (the tunnel) needed prettying up."

“I feel dusty.”

That’s the translation of what Google says is an Indonesian phrase — “Mersa Dustoe” — found sprawled across the top of the entrance of the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel on Sunday morning.

While no one would dispute that the tunnel is a bit dusty after more than two years undergoing a $28.4 million upgrade, the artwork came as a surprise to commuters using the tunnel after its most recent construction-related closure.

The letters, in teal and black, were expertly spaced across the tunnel’s four lanes.

The graffitist obviously spent some time on the project — whenever he or she did it.

“I guess someone thought (the tunnel) needed prettying up,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said.

The tunnel, part of U.S. 1, runs under the New River and is a key gateway to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Trantalis said the city is working with the Florida Department of Transportation, the agency  responsible for maintaining the tunnel, to remove the graffiti. That should happen within the next day or two, Trantalis said.

Meanwhile, the city is investigating whether security footage in the area exists that could help identify the person, he said.

Asked whether the graffiti would affect the city’s image to motorists using the tunnel to get to the airport, Trantalis said the site already looked “obnoxious.”

“I guess it gives some respite to what we’ve been dealing with the past two years,” he said.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.