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May 20, 2014 12:35 PM, EDT

A $900 million underwater tunnel that will give trucks leaving the port of Miami faster access to highways was unveiled May 19, four years after construction began.

The tunnel is part of a $2 billion capital-improvement plan at the port, which is preparing for the larger ships that will pass through the Panama Canal after its widening is completed next year. The port’s debt surpassed $1 billion for the first time this month as it has ramped up borrowing to pay for a harbor-deepening project and other upgrades.

Florida’s Miami-Dade County sold more than $200 million in revenue bonds this month to help finance construction of the tunnel, which connects the world’s largest cruise-ship hub to Interstate 395.

The port held an “opening ceremony” and said the tunnel would soon be open to traffic.