Since March 16, the last drawbridge on the Overseas Highway has only opened once an hour.
Before that, it opened twice an hour — which caused massive backups through the village of Islamorada in the Upper Keys, said Islamorada Mayor Mike Forster.
On Thursday, the Coast Guard informed the village that it would be extending the test period of once-an-hour openings for another 30 days, Forster said. The test period had been scheduled to end this Tuesday.
"It's been pretty effective," Forster said.
But the Coast Guard is seeking the public's opinion on the bridge-opening schedule.
Forster said he hopes lots of people in the Keys will voice their opinions. Closing the bridge more frequently causes traffic backups that can affect the entire island chain and possibly hurt its thriving tourism industry.
"We need to make sure we don't ruin it by having things like the Snake Creek Bridge, where people are in line for seven hours just to go home," Forster said. "It creates very little hardship for the small amount of boaters that really need it on call."
To comment on the schedule, go to Regulations.gov and type the docket number USCG 2015-0046 in the search box and click search. Then click on "submit a comment" on the line associated with this rulemaking.
