DOT sets Stretch meetings in late January
Four planned for the Keys and mainland
By Kevin Wadlow Senior Staff
Writer
kwadlow@keynoter.com
Residents have a chance to get up to speed on current plans for the
18-Mile Stretch at a series of meetings Jan. 26-29.
"We’re kind of surprised that we see people in the newspaper
referring to the four-lane plans," said Alice Bravo, district
environment manager for the state Department of Transportation.
"It’s been a two-lane plan for two or three years. The four-lane plan
hasn’t been around for quite a while."
The four meetings, from Key West to Homestead, will provide a forum
for people to see the detailed plans currently under consideration for
the U.S. 1 highway between Key Largo and Florida City.
"Recently we’ve been getting calls from people who want to know how
the Stretch plan will affect their driveway or home," said Bravo. "This
is a setting for people to see the master plan and how it affects them.
"We can clean up any misconceptions and look at specific issues for
people who live along the project," she said.
Officers of the Island of Key Largo Federation of Homeowner
Associations said they "welcome" the meetings, but want to be assured
that the gatherings will not substitute for a formal hearing on U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers permits.
Federation President Glenn Patton said many residents are aware of
the plans, but still have "concerns."
Primary among those, he said, are "the potential for four-laning the
Stretch, given the size of the roadbed being proposed, and the footprint
and size of the fixed bridge at Jewfish Creek with its cloverleaf
configuration."
The DOT meetings are planned:
- 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Key Largo library in
Trade Winds Plaza, mile marker 101.4.
- 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Florida
City-Homestead Public Library, 700 N. Homestead Boulevard.
- 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Harvey Government
Center, in 1200 Truman Ave., Key West.
- 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Marathon Government
Center, mile marker 47.
Construction on the Monroe County portion of the Stretch improvement
(most of the Stretch is in Miami-Dade) could begin as soon as October
2005, according to the DOT.
An
original plan to four-lane the Stretch was scaled back to a three-lane
design (two northbound lanes, one southbound) was changed to the current
"safety project" plan. |
