‘Such a nightmare.’ Key West bridge repair expected to cause traffic woes starting March 16
There is only one road in and out of Key West and come March 16, that road will become a construction zone for six months.
Residents and visitors, make sure to bring your patience to mile marker 4.
“It’s going to be such a nightmare for this community for six months,” said City Commissioner Jimmy Weekly at the Feb. 19 commission meeting at City Hall, after receiving a report from Florida Department of Transportation officials.
“Hopefully that’s all it’s going to be,” Weekly said, of the state’s construction schedule that has an Oct. 12 completion date for bridge work.
During the repair, the four lanes of the Cow Key Channel twin two-lane bridges will be restricted — only three lanes will be open at a time — as crews repair damage to the bridge caused by saltwater corrosion.
“We’re going to be replacing three spans on each bridge for a total of six spans,” said George Hoffman, the project manager for FDOT. “This is the result of mostly Jet Skis spraying saltwater and advancing corrosion more than typical.”
Nighttime closures of a single lane, the northbound inside lane, were set to start Monday night. The closure will run from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, so utility companies can relocate their lines along the bridge. All four lanes will be open during the day.
But the bridge construction starts March 16. Here’s the schedule:
From 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays, there will be two inbound lanes and one outbound lane open.
From 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. that will switch — one inbound lane and two outbound lanes. Hoffman said it will take about 30 minutes to make the lane changes.
On Saturdays, there will be two inbound lanes and one outbound lane.
On Sundays, one inbound lane and two outbound lanes will be open.
FDOT will hold a public meeting on the project from 5 to 7 p.m. March 4 at Key West City Hall, 1300 White St.
The bridge leads to Key West’s entrance, called the Triangle, where traffic breaks into three lanes inbound to take people to North Roosevelt — which goes downtown — or South Roosevelt — which leads to the airport.
Cars compete with bicycles, scooters and pedestrians at the harried intersection, and even a fender bender can back up traffic for an hour or more.
“Any kind of slowdown causes delays,” said Key West City Manager Greg Veliz. “Obviously people are nervous but with good reason.”
FDOT has said it will “remain fluid” and work with the city to make any adjustments to the construction scheduled, Veliz said.
“If they see something, they’ll do something,” Veliz said.
After Oct. 12, the state said there will be 80 days of “roadway restoration,” but all four lanes of traffic on the bridge will be open. The contractor is Kiewit Infrastructure South Company.
FDOT is offering Kiewit a $700,000 bonus as an incentive to make the Oct. 12 deadline. If late, the company will be fined $17,500 a day. The restoration completion date is Nov. 12.
City Commissioner Sam Kaufman tried to find a bright side to the Cow Key Channel Bridge construction.
Kaufman says the construction will cause “great disruption” to Key West traffic but thanked FDOT for making some compromises on the project, particularly to get it done as quickly as possible.
“This started out at 18 months,” Kaufman said of the project. “We’re down to 180 days.”
Hoffman pointed out that the bridge work is set for completion before the annual 10-day Fantasy Fest event, a huge tourism draw for the Keys, and crews should be finished before Thanksgiving.
At a glance: Bridge work schedule
The Cow Key Channel Bridge construction schedule, March 16-Oct. 12:
Weekdays
▪ 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. Two inbound lanes and one outbound lane
▪ 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. One inbound lane and two outbound lanes
Saturdays
▪ Two inbound lanes and one outbound lane
Sundays
▪ One inbound lane and two outbound lanes
