The Overseas Highway is an internationally famous route, a ribbon that carries cars and connects islands as it offers unparalleled views of the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Local officials in the Keys, however, would like to block off a quarter-mile section of that view.
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The problem is a section of U.S. 1 at mile marker 109, where the road curves around Barnes Sound north of Key Largo — and in good weather, boats pull up close to shore.
"They call it up there bikini beach and they also call it lookie-loo beach," said Monroe Sheriff Rick Ramsay. "We have people that are in a 55-mile-an-hour zone and are dropping down to 30, 35 miles an hour just for that, to look at the boats and, presumably, the swimmers."
The slowdowns lead to frequent collisions and can cause traffic backups two miles in each direction, Ramsay said. He said he's asked the state Department of Transportation to put up some sort of visual barrier, like buttonwood trees or tennis court fences.
"They acknowledge it's a problem and they acknowledge they themselves have been in the traffic and seen it and know why it's occurring," Ramsay said. "But they're hesitant to do something because it's a scenic highway and they don't want to block off part of a scenic highway."
The Monroe County Commission endorsed Ramsay's request Wednesday. A spokeswoman for DOT District 6 did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
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