The Overseas Highway is an internationally well-known route, a ribbon that carries automobiles and connects islands because it affords unparalleled views of the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Local officials in the Keys, nonetheless, would love to block off 1 / 4-mile part of that view.
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The drawback is a bit of U.S. 1 at mile marker 109, the place the highway curves round Barnes Sound north of Key Largo — and in good climate, boats pull up shut to shore.
“They call it up there bikini beach and they also call it lookie-loo beach,” mentioned 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 might trigger site visitors backups two miles in every route, Ramsay mentioned. He mentioned he is requested the state Department of Transportation to put up some type of visible barrier, like buttonwood timber or tennis courtroom 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 mentioned. “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 didn’t instantly return a name looking for remark.
Andy Newman
/
Florida Keys News Service
The Overseas Highway, seen right here in an aerial shot of the Lower Keys, is an internationally well-known route that provides views of the subtropical waters of Keys.
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