New drinking water pipes are going into the ground at a fast rate on Islamorada’s Plantation Key.
Work is moving so efficiently along U.S. 1 that contractors for the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority say the 6 miles of new water transmission main could be finished sooner than originally anticipated.
Aaron Cutler, project manager, told Islamorada council members at a recent meeting that crews successfully placed 15,208 feet of new, 36-inch drinking water pipe into the ground.
“That’s a really big number and we’ve only been at this since March,” Cutler said, adding they’re on track to finish around March 2026.
Installation of new pipe near MM 88.5 hit pause with a two-day lobster mini-season bringing more traffic onto the Overseas Highway the prior weekend. Cutler said trench cutting continued through July 29 before the lobster mini-season began the morning of July 30. The two-day lobster catching ends at midnight on July 31.
Water main installation won’t resume until Sunday, Aug. 3, Cutler said.
When the project is complete, some 32,000 linear feet of new water main will be installed from Snake Creek Bridge to Julep Road in Tavernier. Crews trench and coat the pipes during the day. At night, pipe installation and backfill gets underway.
Crews are moving so fast that they’re expected to reach Coral Shores High School around September. Cutler said they were originally anticipating work may begin mid-August, but it was pushed back to deal with some logistics with students back in the classroom and more activity in the area.
“We’ve done some minor changes to the design … looking at things several different ways to try to ensure we have at least one northbound lane open, similar to what we did during the Tavernier Creek Bridge crossing,” he said.
Crews installed water transmission main underwater at Tavernier Creek Bridge earlier in the year. The work caused traffic congestion on the northbound side of U.S. 1 with one lane shut down from late March through mid-May. Replacing an aged, 30-inch pipe with a new 36-inch transmission main in the ground at Tavernier Creek Crossing took 60 days. The project was estimated to last three months.
FKAA says the current 30-inch water main, which carries drinking water from an underground aquifer in Florida City to Keys faucets, has reached its lifespan. FKAA delivers nearly 20 million gallons of water a day throughout the Keys.
Crews are working around the clock Monday through Friday, with exception of major holidays, events like lobster mini-season and inclement weather. Crews are moving north in 1,000-foot increments as the pipes get installed. Access to all businesses will be maintained, Cutler said. Businesses will also be notified in advance of work taking place in their area.
“If we’re in front of your business, the contractor is doing everything they can to maintain access,” Cutler said. “That’s a contract requirement to do so. If someone doesn’t have access, contact me and we’ll make sure that happens. We move through the area pretty quickly.”
Motorists are reminded that left-hand turns are not permitted in the work zone. Motorists should continue past the intended destination, make a U-turn when it’s safe and legal to do so, then turn right into the destination.
