Stretch closure snarls Keys traffic for miles & miles & miles oh yea!
With all traffic out of the Keys diverted because of work on the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1, residents and visitors ran into huge traffic jams stretching as far back as mid-Key Largo over the weekend.
On Saturday, traffic backed up on State Road 905 in the afternoon and evening.
On Sunday, the backup was worse, with traffic snarled from just north of mile marker 100 northbound. [that is 6 miles from the split between the stretch and SR 905 to Card Sound]
One resident reported a nearly two-hour delay while driving 7 miles on U.S. 1 in Key Largo around 5 p.m. Sue Sparkes said in a letter to the editor that it took 75 minutes to drive 10 miles on Key Largo.
Although officials promised access for businesses at the Jewfish Creek Bridge, on Friday evening a roadblock prevented vehicles coming from Key Largo to reach the access road to the businesses.
On Monday morning, traffic cameras showing Card Sound Road and U.S. 1 also were out of operation. {that’s odd]
KeysNet staff is gathering information on the traffic situation. Updates will be posted as soon as they are available.
We have been coming to the Keys for 22 years and have a home at mile marker 89.5.
We were trying to leave to go back to Miami Sunday and we heard the traffic was bad going northbound [because the northbound 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 was closed for roadwork], so we waited until 6 p.m. to leave. After sitting in traffic for more than three hours, we finally reached Card Sound Road and saw the traffic was still not moving. We made a U-turn and went back to Tavernier.
This was the worst experience with traffic I have ever seen; even on holiday weekends it was never that bad.
If they ever had to evacuate the Keys (what a disaster that would be), that was a taste of what would happen, except probably worse. Something needs to be done ASAP.
The closure of northbound U.S. 1 on the 18-Mile Stretch without any notice or accommodation to smooth out the bottleneck of the four-way stop at Ocean Reef on Card Sound Road is unforgivable. Granite Construction should be paying for or providing either a traffic cop or a temporary light to safely allow a steady turn at that corner to speed up traffic flow.
Card Sound Road is not designed to handle the kind of traffic being detoured. It is now full of anxious people. There isn’t even enough room to pull off to the side of the road in many spots. A breakdown or a minor fender bender will shut it down. It is an accident waiting to happen.
Who has the authority to do more to ensure that there are no more three- hour traffic jams? How much could it cost compared to potentially saving a life and definitely alleviating the anxiety of thousands of residents and visitors?