The Florida Keys water utility is beginning the long process of replacing its only pipeline for drinking water and it’s going to mean travel delays for motorists on the Overseas Highway for the foreseeable future.
Beginning this week, drivers can expect a southbound lane closure in the Upper Keys, near mile marker 80. That’s because water utility workers are replacing the main transmission line in Islamorada.
The original pipeline dates back to the 1980s. In March there were three water main breaks in one week in the Upper Keys, affecting water pressure that forced schools to close, stalled traffic on U.S. 1 for hours at a time.
Greg Veliz, executive director of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, said construction crews will be working Monday through Friday, 24 hours a day.
"There’s going to be slowing down and that will be some type of backup," Veliz told WLRN.
Veliz said traffic will be slow because only one northbound and one southbound lane will remain open along U.S. 1 for the duration of the project.
The bayside portion of the Heritage Trail will be closed, but a crosswalk to the ocean side of the trail will be maintained through March 2024, according to the website the water utility made for the Islamorada water main project.
This is just the start of a new, 130-mile-long water pipeline for the Keys. This first leg in Islamorada will cost around $42 million and is scheduled to be completed in February 2025.
Veliz said the cost of installing a new pipe is currently nearly $10 million per mile.
