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Workshop today takes input on Stretch widening
BY STEVE GIBBS
keysnews.com
KEY LARGO —
The controversial state proposal to improve the 18-Mile Stretch and
replace the old Jewfish Creek Bridge will get a public hearing today.
The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers will allow public comment on the project beginning at
7 p.m. at the Westin Beach Resort, Mile Marker 97.
The
long-debated plan calls for a concrete barrier down the center of U.S. 1
with a 10-foot high fence lining both sides of the road, a second
northbound lane with rumble strips for emergency evacuation use, a
75-foot tall fixed Jewfish Creek Bridge with a 360-foot wide cloverleaf
configuration and an elevated approach to the bridge across a causeway
over Lake Surprise.
A total of
85.6 acres of surrounding wetland will be developed as part of the
improvements. The state plans to restore a total of 423 acres of wetland
for mitigation, much of which has already been done.
Included in
the proposed work are several features that will re-establish water flow
through the project corridor as part of Everglades restoration plans.
Glenn Patton,
president of the Port Largo Homeowners Association, said two-thirds of
the residents in his community supported the current plan in a recent
poll, with the rest supporting four laning it. He also leads the Key
Largo Federation of Homeowner Associations, whose member John
Hammerstrom has devoted several years to studying FDOT's plans for the
highway.
Corps
spokesman Kenneth Huntington said Monday that he had received about 50
requests for a public hearing, and that the Army Corps of Engineers
wants to listen to all points of view. |
