KEY LARGO, FL – The Tubby’s Creek and Mosquito Creek bridge replacement project consists of the replacement of two three-span concrete slab bridges located on Highway 905A (Card Sound Road) in Monroe County. For the preliminary design phase, there will be intermittent lane closures with flaggers to direct and assist motorists around the work zone on Tuesday, Jan. 8 through Jan. 10, starting at 9 a.m. each day to conduct an additional survey of the existing bridges and a geotechnical soil boring investigation. Work will only happen during daylight hours. Access for emergency vehicles will remain available, and the contractor will work to minimize inconvenience to motorists.
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KEY LARGO, FL – The Tubby’s Creek and Mosquito Creek bridge replacement project consists of the replacement of two three-span concrete slab bridges located on Highway 905A (Card Sound Road) in Monroe County. For the preliminary design phase, there will be intermittent lane closures with flaggers to direct and assist motorists around the work zone on Tuesday, Jan. 2 through Jan. 4, starting at 9 a.m. each day to conduct an additional survey of the existing bridges and a geotechnical soil boring investigation. Work will only happen during daylight hours. Access for emergency vehicles will remain available, and the contractor will work to minimize inconvenience to motorists. The Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride takes place Friday, Jan. 5, and Saturday, Jan. 6, in the Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys. Residents and visitors are encouraged to cheer on and support the warriors while they cycle through the Florida Keys or join them for the guided community ride on Saturday in Key West.
“The Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride is an opportunity for those who honorably serve or have served our nation to build confidence and strength from wounds incurred in service,” said Monroe County Veterans Affairs Director Cathy Crane, who is also a coordinator of the event. “We enthusiastically welcome these warriors as they ride through the Florida Keys and hope our residents and visitors will cheer them on while they ride through our communities.” Motorists should take extra time to get to their destination during the ride times. U.S. 1 will remain open for the Soldier Ride, but motorists should be patient, use caution, and note that there may be rolling lane shifts in traffic. Friday, Jan. 5
Saturday, Jan. 6
MONROE COUNTY, FL – Bradley Albright, Building Inspector and Plans Examiner, is named Monroe County’s Employee of the Third Quarter for 2023 for exceeding job expectations, noteworthy performance, and his positive impact on his co-workers and community. He started with the County in March 2022 and was recognized by the Board of County Commissioners at their recent meeting.
Albright was nominated by several of his co-workers, including customer service representatives Nicole Kozash, Lian Chamizo, and Sara Lopez, and Permitting Administrator Crystal Sebben. They said he was a key player in helping explain the new online permitting system and is always willing to answer questions from staff and customers with knowledge and a positive attitude. “Brad has gained the trust of the department and the customers in such a short time,” said Sebben. “I feel Brad is an ideal employee who demonstrates Monroe County’s values and is an outstanding employee who more than deserves this award.” KEY LARGO, FL – The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners hosted a special resilience and roads adaptation workshop in Key Largo on Tuesday. The meeting focused on alternatives for road adaptation projects for Stillwright Point, a neighborhood in Key Largo that consistently experiences king tide flooding for several weeks out of the year.
Monroe County Chief Resilience Officer Rhonda Haag and Roads and Engineering Director Judy Clarke, along with the project consultants, updated the commissioners and public on the status of the County Roadway Vulnerability Study and Implementation Plan. The presentation included an update on the Twin Lakes road adaptation project in Key Largo. The solicitation for the construction of the Twin Lakes road adaptation project is anticipated to be released within two weeks. Grant funds are available for the construction estimate amount. Stillwright Point’s road adaptation project is funded for the design only and is currently underway. Construction estimated costs have risen from $20 million to $40 million with no changes to the project scope due to rising construction costs. “We are facing a really tough road ahead of us when it comes to funding resilience projects,” said Haag. “There are heavy increases in construction costs, and now there is also much more competition from other areas in Florida applying for the same grant funding.” Funding challenges include increased project costs and limited state and federal grant opportunities. Local funding options include county revenue, neighborhood assessments, and a potential additional penny sales tax to fund resilience projects. Following the presentation and public comment, the commissioners discussed five alternative ideas for Stillwright Point, ranging from the $41 million long-term road elevation project using 2045 sea-level rise projections with pumped drainage to the $0 “no adaptation project ” approach. The commissioners ultimately asked staff to evaluate and design the option to add asphalt from 1 to 6 inches to alleviate some of the high tide flooding issues, with an approximate price tag of $2.5 million. Staff will bring forward a task order to move forward with the design work at the January 31 regularly scheduled BOCC meeting. To view the presentation, visit www.monroecounty-fl.gov/DocumentCenter/View/34834/Stillwright-Point-BOCC-121223-Presentation. We Can Create More Resilient Coral Reefs in 2024, But We Need the Restoration Blueprint and Your Help to Do That FLORIDA KEYS - As Mayor of Monroe County, my resolution for the new year is to make this the start of a new chapter for our reefs, and I’m asking you to join me in that commitment. We must embrace the forthcoming changes of the National Marine Sanctuary’s Restoration Blueprint, understand what those changes mean for our daily interactions and uses of our local waters, follow the new rules, and help educate others about why these changes are so significant. The ocean and coral reefs of the Florida Keys do so much for us, and now it’s critical we return the favor. This better, stronger plan for our Sanctuary is coming soon, and it is our responsibility as stewards of this ecosystem to embrace the changes in how we interact with our coral reefs and nearshore ecosystems. We must all unite to make the Restoration Blueprint a success for the Florida Keys. Monroe County residents and visitors readily embrace this winter season after a scorching summer, which culminated in a historic ocean heatwave. Widespread coral bleaching, and in some cases, coral mortality, was documented in shallow reefs and coral nurseries in the Keys. While some fish fled to cooler depths, many foundational habitat-forming species like corals, sea sponges, and seagrasses could not. While we could not immediately counteract the impact of this summer’s extraordinary warming, a Herculean effort by many local nonprofits saved many corals by moving them to cooler, deeper areas or laboratory nurseries so we could rebuild depleted populations later. Innovative, science-based coral restoration has made incredible progress toward ecosystem recovery, but additional pieces to a larger management puzzle require long-term solutions. From Monroe County constructing a billion-dollar sewer system to investing millions of dollars in canal restoration, our community has made great strides and significant investments in improving water quality in the past two decades. Still, we can continue to push forward in these efforts. We must pursue bold action on climate change to protect our oceans in the next few decades. And we must manage our oceans, especially our federal marine sanctuaries and state aquatic preserves, to better withstand the factors contributing to their degradation. For the Florida Keys, this new Restoration Blueprint management plan is our guiding light for our reefs. Decades of marine science in Florida all point towards making marine life more likely to withstand the harmful effects of stressors like higher temperatures by reducing other pressures on sensitive ecosystems. When we get sick during this time of year, we rest, reduce stress, and behave healthfully—the same works for marine life. Our oceans benefit significantly from reducing fishing pressure, reducing the overuse of coral areas by even well-meaning snorkelers and scuba divers, slowing boats down to reduce propeller scarring of seagrass beds, giving adequate space to wading birds that nest on mangrove islands, and restoring the normal balance of predators and prey in the water. Marine conservation science shows us that maritime zones with strong protections can reduce the pressure on ecosystems, which works hand-in-hand with restoration efforts focusing on resistance to and recovery from the ill effects of climate change and increasingly severe marine heat waves. Reducing pressure on ocean ecosystems means we can’t manage our marine sanctuaries like ‘business as usual;’ we must change something to make marine life more sustainable. We all – anglers, divers, snorkelers, boaters, businesses, and more – must work together to keep our ocean as healthy as possible. Fortunately for Florida’s marine life, the proposed Restoration Blueprint allows us to change our behavior thoughtfully to create more sustainable oceans. The current zoning and management plan for the Sanctuary dates to the 1990s when conditions in the Florida Keys were very different and much better than they are now. We have a rare opportunity to embrace a plan for the Florida Keys that can nimbly and aggressively respond to current and future threats. It will be a bold plan that responds to the issues of warming waters and coral bleaching, extreme heat waves, declining abundance of commercial and recreationally important fish, coral disease, overuse of some sensitive regions, and dying seagrasses. If we want Florida’s oceans, especially our beloved coral reefs, to sustain and thrive for future generations, we must strengthen protections and rules for its management now. I’m ready to take action this new year for what we love most, and I hope you are, too. KEY LARGO, FL –The Card Sound Road Resurfacing Project includes the installation of “ground-in” rumble strips along the centerline and outside edges of the lanes to reduce lane departure accidents. The installation process uses large equipment that will extend into both lanes of traffic. To complete the work safely, Card Sound Road will be closed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13 and Thursday, Dec. 14, from the intersection of C.R. 905 at the south/east end to just west of the Monroe County Card Sound Bridge toll on the north/west end near the Monroe County line. The closures will not impact the Miami-Dade section of CR 905. FLORIDA KEYS, FL – In an effort to preserve County-maintained roads and prolong pavement life, Monroe County is continuing the pavement preservation program it initiated in spring 2020. On Nov. 28, Pavement Technology, Inc. will begin treating roads in Key West and Big Pine Key that were resurfaced between 2021 and 2022. The project should take approximately 3-4 days to complete, weather permitting. This treatment will extend the life of the pavement up to eight years. The project will not take place on U.S. 1 and will not affect traffic along U.S. 1.
During the treatment period, the road will not be accessible to vehicular traffic for approximately 30 minutes. Access for emergency vehicles will remain available and the contractor will work to minimize inconvenience to residents. The contractor will also place signs the day before in the neighborhoods scheduled to be treated. The process involves applying a liquid rejuvenator to recently paved roads early in the pavement lifecycle to extend the life and minimize more costly repairs such as milling and resurfacing. The rejuvenator is sprayed on the road and fully penetrates the asphalt before a light coating of manufactured sand is placed over it to provide short-term friction and act as a blotting agent. The following day, all treated roads are swept with a vacuum sweeper to remove the sand. The product is environmentally safe, washes from vehicles with soap and water, and is applied not to create any runoff into the ocean. In April 2020, the crew treated 55 miles of county-maintained side and residential roads from Lower Sugarloaf to Little Torch Key that were resurfaced as part of the Cudjoe Regional Wastewater Project, in December 2020, the crew treated 7 miles of County-maintained residential and side roads in Key Largo, and in December 2021 crews treated 31 miles of county-maintained residential roads in Stock Island, Key Haven, and Key Largo. MONROE COUNTY, FL – Monroe County Fire Rescue and Monroe County Firefighters Benevolent Association will host several evening holiday caravans throughout the Florida Keys as part of its annual tradition.
Monroe County Fire Rescue firefighters and staff will throw candy from fire trucks, ambulances, and other fire rescue vehicles along the route. Of course, Santa also will take time from his busy schedule to ride on a fire truck. There will also be a few stops to meet with Santa along the route. Each parade's exact times and routes will be posted on www.monroecounty-fl.gov/mcfr and the Monroe County Fire Rescue Facebook page www.fb.com/monroecountyfirerescue before the event.
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