District coordinating weekly with sheriff and Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority on Upper Keys pipeline work near school zones
Summary
District officials said they are meeting weekly with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, FDOT and the sheriff’s office to mitigate traffic impacts of a pipeline replacement near PKS and Coral Shores High School; potential short, localized delays expected in mid-November.
District staff briefed the Monroe County School Board on coordination with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (FKA), the Florida Department of Transportation and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office about pipeline replacement work in the Upper Keys that will approach school zones near PKS and Coral Shores High School.
Coordination and mitigation: Staff said coordination calls have included suggestions to mitigate congestion and that, beginning last Monday, the group will meet weekly. The district and sheriff’s office discussed specific dismissal-mitigation measures: during anticipated high-impact days—expected in roughly the second week of November—Sheriff’s Office personnel will be assigned to stop traffic briefly at bus exits so bus runs can clear. The district said it will send buses out simultaneously and then allow southbound parent traffic to flow through the bus loop under sheriff guidance to reduce backups at Woods Avenue.
Why it matters: The pipeline work will encroach into school zones and is expected to create traffic impacts; district and law-enforcement coordination is intended to reduce congestion and maintain safe dismissal operations.
Next steps: The district said it expects concentrated impacts in a narrow time window and will continue weekly coordination calls with FKA and FDOT; it will report unforeseen traffic impacts to the board as they arise.
