Environmentalists sue 18-mile Stretch Improvements
Keys Treasures
U.S. 1, the main route between the Florida Keys and the mainland,
alleging that federal agencies didn't correctly review the proposal's
impact on endangered species and the Everglades.
The Sierra Club, Friends of the Everglades and Florida Keys Citizens
Coalition also want a judge to cancel the federal permits given to the
state Department of Transportation, according to the lawsuit filed in
U.S. District Court in Miami.
State officials are trying to add wider shoulders and a concrete median
barrier to the two-lane section of U.S. 1 that runs from Florida City
to Key Largo. Those additions should prevent head-on collisions and
help traffic flow during hurricane evacuations.
The state also plans to create under-road crossings to help endangered
animals such as Florida panthers and crocodiles avoid traffic.
The environmental groups says the project would harm the
environmentally sensitive Everglades wetlands that the road runs
through.
The Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal
Highway Administration and other agencies are named as defendants in
the lawsuit. Officials with those agencies either declined comment or
did not return phone messages.
But state officials said that the project has been reviewed multiple
times, and as recently as last year, to ensure that it is
environmentally safe.
"We've heard much of this and we've addressed much of this," said
Javier Rodriguez, district director of production for the state
transportation department.