The Florida Keys Citizens Coalition, the Sierra Club and Friends of the Everglades filed suit in federal court to overturn a wetlands permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and to redirect a project that would expand US1 from Florida City to Key Largo--along one of the most environmentally sensitive corridors in South Florida.

"There is a safer, cheaper and less damaging way," said Charles Causey, Co-Chair of the Florida Keys Citizens Coalition, which represents seven civic organizations. "The public deserves a better plan."

The Corps' permit authorizes the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration to widen an "18-mile stretch" of highway, fill more than 100 acres of critical wetlands, and construct an elaborate system of bridges at an estimated cost of nearly $250 million.

In certain stretches, the project will make the road even more dangerous, encourage increased development and add even more cars to the already overbuilt archipelago, says the coalition.

An FDOT spokesman has admitted this project does not improve hurricane evacuation times. Expert scientists say it could also threaten numerous species such as endangered corals, while pushing Everglades restoration costs even higher. Still, the project has been fast tracked through the permitting process instead of seeking alternatives.

FS