Resolution 245-1991
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Commissioner A. Earl Cheal
'9J l.IUL 24 P 3 :/1 U
RESOLUTION NO. 245-1991
A RESdtCUTfoN OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, URGING THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO ASSIST IN CONSTRUCTING
A FIXED SPAN BRIDGE REPLACEMENT FOR THE JEWFISH CREEK
DRAW BRIDGE IN MONROE COUNTY I FLORIDA. "
WHEREAS, Monroe County is served by a single highway, U.S.
1, and
WHEREAS, in the event of a hurricane, almost all of the
population of the Keys and the visitors to the Keys would rely on
U.S. 1 for an evacuation route, and
WHEREAS, in addition to Monroe County residents and visitors
living in the Keys, there are 1,200 Federal Government employees
and 7,000 Military and dependents along with 665 State of Florida
employees working and residing in the Keys. The Federal and
State people are also served by the single U. S. 1 evacuation
route, and
WHEREAS, Jewfish Creek Draw Bridge, just north of Key Largo
on U.S. 1, which was constructed in 1944, has in recent years
been plagued by unscheduled breakdowns and is not reliable in the
event of a hurricane, and
WHEREAS, Card Sound Road FL 905, has a elevation of +2' and
is expected to flood prior to a hurricane hitting thereby
rendering it unusable as an evacuation route, and
WHEREAS, the widening of the 18 mile stretch of U.S. 1 is
controversial; however, there is apparently no controversy about
constructing a new fixed span replacement span for the Jewfish
Creek Draw Bridge, and
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners is willing to
sacrifice other State and Federal road projects within the Keys
to focus all available assets on improving the hurricane route
evacuation, and
WHEREAS, according to the National Weather Service, a
clearance time of 12 hours or less is ideal, and a clearance time
of less than 24 hours is a minimum, and
WHEREAS, currently the Monroe County clearance time is 34
hours, but the Board of County Commissioners has a goal to reduce
the clearance time to 30 hours, and
WHEREAS, a general rule of thumb is that each hour of
clearance corresponds to roughly 2,000 persons, and
\~EREAS, with a 30 hour clearance time compared to a 12 hour
ideal clearance time, an evacuation rate of 2,000 persons per
hour, it is expected that approximately 36,000 persons would not
be afforded the opportunity to evacuate in the event of a major
hurricane; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that the Board hereby requests the State
of Florida and the United States of America to assist in
constructing a fixed span bridge replacement for the Jewfish
Creek Draw Bridge in the soonest possible time to ensure an
evacuation route will be available for people who choose to
evacuate the Florida Keys. The Board of County Commissioners
specifically calls upon the following individuals to assist in
helping to expedite the construction of this bridge:
President George Bush
Representative Dante Fascel1
Senator Bob Graham
Senator Connie Mack
Governor Lawton Chiles
Representative Ron Saunders
Senator Larry Plummer
The Secretary of Transportation
The Secretary of the DCA
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Monroe County, Florida, at a regular meeting of the Board held on
the 17th day of
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Ju1:t ,1991.
Mayor Harvey
Mayor Pro Tem London
Commissioner Cheal
Commissioner Jones
Commissioner Stormont
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Yes
Yes
Yes
~es
Present
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Not
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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
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Mayor/Chairman ' ..
BY
(SEAL)
ATTEST: DANNY L. KOLHAGE, CLERK
By~'~j),e.
~eputy Clerk
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