COW KEY BRIDGE REPAIRS SOON…..OH! THE AGGRAVATION

It’s coming. soon. The beginning of the repair work to the Cow Key Bridge. Anywhere from 220 to 480 days of pure unadulterated aggravation.

The Cow Key Bridge is part of US 1. The only way in and out of Key West. Sits just outside the Key West boundary line.

The bridge 4 lanes wide. Two lanes each way.

The Boulevards permit entry onto US 1 and then Cow Key Bridge. North and South Roosevelt Boulevards. Two lanes coming on and off US 1.

Seven to 9 in the morning and 4 to 6 in the evening the busiest times. People coming to work and going home make up most of the traffic.

I live on the golf course. Presently takes me 15 minutes to go less than 2 miles on US 1 to get into Key West. Traffic.

It has been projected it will take anywhere from 26 to 36 additional minutes during the bridge repair phase. From my perspective, conservative estimates.

The reason fr additional time is that the 4 bridge lanes will be reduced by at least 1 to 3 lanes.

Last night paints a clear picture as to the problem. No repair work yet. All lanes open and flowing. It was 6 and I was returning home. Coming to Flagler on South Roosevelt Boulevard. The right lane traffic for cars turning on to US 1 began at Flagler. Quite a distance. A 5-10 minute delay now. It will be more when 1 or 2 lanes are closed down.

Cow Key Bridge is not long. Three hounded feet. Work will begin in April. The State tells us 220 days if only one lane closed, 480 if 2.

A disaster in the making. High blood pressure. Not going to be a fun time.

People have already begun talking about what lies ahead. No one happy.

Locals are aware the State cannot be depended for accurate estimates, etc. It took forever a couple of years ago for North Roosevelt Boulevard to be repaired. And then certain parts were done wrong and had to be corrected. More aggravation after we thought it was all behind us.

I believe there has to be a better way so traffic can move faster. However, I am not bridge construction savvy and may be wrong.

You will hear more about the issue as April approaches.

Aqua Idol last night! My first visit in 10 years. Previously it was held on tuesday night. My blog talk radio evening. Could not attend. This season it has moved to wednesday.

A terrific show! Sixteen singers participating. All good. One contestant per week is eliminated. The contest lasts 16 weeks.

Aqua was packed. I got there early enough to get a seat at the bar. Viewers all locals. Residents and snowbirds. Most senior citizens. Everyone having a good time.

Lynda Frechette has to be complimented. She began this fundraiser 14 years ago for the Waterfront Playhouse. The success of the event is attributable to her.

Left before the show was over. I wanted to catch the second half of the Syracuse/Notre Dame game. Hurried to Jack Flats. Not one TV set was on the game. All showing other games with people already watching. No screen for Louis to watch Syracuse.

Walked across the street to La Trattoria for dinner.

Then home.

The game was over by the time I arrived home. Syracuse had won 84-82. Syracuse on a streak! Did poorly in pre-season play. The team has now won 4 consecutive games in ACC play.

Go “Cuse!

Recall Bruce Springsteen’s Pink Cadillac: Well now you may think I’m foolish / For the foolish things I do.

There’s a pink Cadillac cruising the Keys. Docked in Islamorada.

Its captain Joe Fox. He was taken with Captain Nemo from the movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”

He built from wood a vessel that ended up looking like a Cadillac. A pink one. He named it Nautilimo after Captain Nemo.

The Nautilimo is available for charter each day. A party vehicle. Carries six.

Former New York Yankee star Derek Jeter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The first time he was eligible. His tally was one vote short of unanimous.

I mention Jeter because there was a time a few years ago when he was a frequent visitor to Key West.

The Curry name is legend in Key West.

William Curry died this day in 1896. He was born in the Bahamas. Came to Key West at the age of 16. Began a mercantile business.

He became Florida’s first millionaire.

Another distinguished Key West person of days gone by is Henry Flagler.

It was on this day in 1912 that the official opening of the Overseas Extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad took place. It is reported the crowd for the event was the largest ever up to that time in Key West.

Flagler was welcomed by then Mayor J. N. Fogarty.

The first train ever had arrived in Key West!

The Key West Citizen has been carrying diary excerpts of a May Johnson from many many years ago.

May was 19 at the time. A school teacher.

On the particular day reported it was fun and frolic for her. No school. She did many things around town. With boys and girls her age.

When May returned home, her mother was not happy. May wrote, “Mama put a damper on all of my good feelings by some of her foolishness.”

Even back then, parents and children had a hard tome getting along. The same considerations as today. Out all day with boys, not knowing where she was, etc.

S things never change.

Caught Trump early this morning on TV. He was still in Davos. He said he was not concerned with the impeachment trial since he had all the “documents.”

The U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. Legalized abortion.

It has been a war ever since. Although Roe was decided 47 years ago, the battle to overturn the decision is ongoing.

Trump was at one time “very pro choice.” Politics has apparently changed his tune.

Decidedly an opportunist.

Pro-lifers have infrequently visited him in the White House.

Things have changed. The anti-abortion group March for Life holds its annual rally tomorrow. Trump is attending and participating. It will be the first time a sitting President has attended in 47 years.

The reason understandable. Pro-life is close to Trump’s evangelical base. He is making sure they know he wants their support. They should know by now. The 100 plus federal judges he has appointed who are pro-life speaks for itself.

During his press conference in Davos yesteryear, Trump announced he would seek cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

Interesting.

He’s a bit of a two face. In 2016, he said there would be no cuts in either. Three years latter, he has changed his mind. Probably thinks it will insure his victory.

In his announcement, Trump d said entitlements are “the easiest of all things to cut.”

The wrath of senior citizens will come down upon him! The elderly are a large voting block.

The impeachment trial so far is a sham. A trial without witnesses and documents. Will forever be known as a “Trump trial.”

A “Trump trial” does not offer justice.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

11 comments on “COW KEY BRIDGE REPAIRS SOON…..OH! THE AGGRAVATION

  1. Why not build a short term bridge to the north of the present one just remove it when the new bridge is finished. If the owner of the land did that he/she would deserve a statue. remove the current north bridge and rebuild it and finally the south bridge. Close off the west end of college Rd and Rt. #1 and put a light at the east end of collage Rd and US1

  2. Why not just fill in under the Cow channel bridge except for a big pipe for tidal flow? You hardly ever see any watercraft down there.

  3. Why not build a short term bridge to the north of the present one just remove it when the new bridge is finished. If the owner of the land did that he/she would deserve a statue. remove the current north bridge and rebuild it and finally the south bridge. Close off the west end of college Rd and Rt. #1 and put a light at the east end of collage Rd and US1

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