County officials, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez and locals gathered to celebrate a groundbreaking of the $21 million resilient Twin Lakes roads pilot project on the morning of Aug. 16. To the joy of residents within the community, work is underway to address issues of flooded roads, which have gone on for nearly a decade.
Key Largo’s Twin Lakes neighborhood has often experienced flooding from heavy rainfall, high tide and king tide events. With the help of a $5.4 million federal appropriation, local funds and money from a state grant, the project aims to elevate roads and install a new drainage and stormwater collection system. FKAA will also replace water infrastructure in the neighborhood; the cost is $3.1 million.
In May, county commissioners gave the thumbs-up for construction, choosing Ferreira Construction to lead the project.
“Your concerns, your lack of quality of life when it floods or when there’s a king tide or a hurricane did not go unnoticed,” said Mayor Holly Raschein at the groundbreaking ceremony. “This has remained on the front burner for us as a county, and today is a culmination of all of that hard work, all of that emotion; all of it is a testament and a recognition of what an important project this is.”
“I was here during a king tide and I saw what happened here. People should not have to live in conditions like that,” said Gimenez, who helped raise federal funding for the project. “We need projects like this so that the Keys remain a paradise.”
The project, which targets Shaw Drive, Crane Street and Adams Drive encompasses 4,633 linear feet of road and will protect 105 homes, according to county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.
The project is Monroe County’s first pilot project for road elevation, with a similar project planned just up the road at Stillwright Point — another neighborhood at risk for prolonged flooding.
Concerns over climate change and sea level rise projections have motivated the need for county-wide road elevation projects.
Twin Lakes resident Stephanie Russo has advocated for the project, attending county commission meetings and speaking with commissioners on the need to relieve issues of flooding in her neighborhood. For years, Russo said, her community of roughly 100 people witnessed their quality of life deteriorating and essential services fading with the rising waters. It even affected garbage pickup, mail delivery and emergency response.
“We are extremely grateful to the county commissioners, their staff, and our local state representatives for their continued support in advocating for this project,” Russo told Keys Weekly. “We are looking forward to having family and friends over to visit during the holidays and enjoying the quality of life we envisioned when we moved to paradise in 2015.”
Initially proposed in 2016, the project is scheduled to be completed by late July 2026. The project begins as low-lying areas in the Keys brace for another king tide event, which causes roads to be filled with saltwater. Homeowners are advised to take precautions for this season’s upcoming king tide events, which are expected to occur starting this month.
King tides are unusually high tides that cause coastal tidal flooding, especially in low areas such as the Stillwright Point and Twin Lakes neighborhoods. According to NOAA, the highest peak king tide events in the Florida Keys are expected to occur Sept. 15-24, Oct. 4-6, Oct. 13-23 and Nov. 13-20.
