Upper Keys water main project reaches major milestone in Tavernier

Six miles of new water main now run under Plantation Key from Snake Creek Bridge to Julep Road, replacing an older 30-inch transmission line that had become vulnerable to corrosion, leaks, storm surge and the Keys’ aggressive soils and tidal flows. The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority says the new 36-inch cathodically protected steel pipe is built to move more water and give the Upper Keys a sturdier backbone once the last connections are finished.

Project manager Aaron Cutler told Islamorada council members on May 12 that crews had successfully installed 34,362 feet of transmission main, a milestone that drew applause from residents in the room. But the job is not over. Six connection points still have to be tied into the existing system: Julep Road and Old Highway, just north of Tavernier Creek Crossing, the Creekside Inn intersection, south of Plantation Key School, in front of Founders Park, and just north of Snake Creek Bridge.

FKAA said any temporary water shutoff tied to those connections will come with 48 hours’ notice. The agency also said access to businesses will be maintained and left-hand turns are not permitted in the work zone. Traffic control impacts along U.S. 1 from Ocean Boulevard to just south of Julep Road and the Creekside Inn intersection have been lifted.

The project began in March 2025 and has already been through a stop-and-start schedule. Crews resumed work near Snake Creek Bridge on March 2, 2025 with a 3,000-foot rolling lane setup, but the Florida Department of Transportation later ordered the work paused on February 25 after backups stretched as far as 5 miles and some trips climbed from about 15 minutes to nearly 2 hours. FKAA now says the pipe-installation phase is expected to finish in early May 2026, later than the original March target, after high groundwater during king tides and unforeseen utility conflicts slowed progress.

Final connection work is expected to continue through June, followed by paving and restoration. That means the practical payoff for Upper Keys households should come once those tie-ins are complete, when the new main can fully carry water through the system instead of relying on a line that had outlived its lifespan.

Islamorada Mayor Don Horton publicly thanked the contractors and FKAA for pushing through the long project. The stakes are high: FKAA says its system delivers about 22 million gallons of drinking water a day to roughly 55,000 customers across a 130-mile network, and earlier estimates put transmission-main replacement at about $8 million to $10 million per mile.