What’s new in the Florida Keys and Key West

Construction of a new road from the South Florida mainland (Florida City) to the Florida Keys is on schedule and the Keys portion of the $300 million project should open to traffic before summer 2008. The new 18-mile Stretch is designed to enhance vehicular safety and benefit the environment. When completed, it is to feature one travel lane in each direction, divided by a concrete median barrier to prevent head-on collisions.

Construction of the McCoy Terminal Complex at Key West International Airport on South Roosevelt Boulevard is expected to be complete by fall 2008. Completion of a new elevated building over parking is targeted for summer 2008, with renovation of the existing facility also planned. The complex is to include second-level ticketing, baggage and security areas for departing passengers, a restaurant, concessions and restrooms. A planned skyway will lead to a 300-seat departure lounge with restrooms and a 160-seat restaurant and tavern in the existing terminal building.

PonTunes boat rental company now offers a water taxi service in Key Largo’s Blackwater Sound area with regular stops at a dozen waterfront restaurants, bars and accommodations. Also available are sunset cruises, dinner transportation, bar hopping excursions, cruises to nowhere, private parties, wedding transportation and fireworks viewings. For information, visit www.keyswatertaxi.com or call (305) 394-1980.

The Big Chill is now open to the public at The Residence Club at Fisherman’s Cove, mile marker (MM) 104 bayside. The restaurant features waterfront dining, a raw bar, a tiki bar with pool service and a venue for live music. The menu showcases fresh seafood from adjacent waters and around the world. The location has a large pool with cabanas and a sandy beach on Florida Bay. For information, visit www.FishermansCoveKeyLargo.com or call (877) 374-2683.

Gator Air offers nonstop regularly scheduled air service between Fort Lauderdale and Marathon, and between Fort Lauderdale and Key West, aboard nine-passenger Chieftan airplanes. The airline plans to add two 30-passenger Saab aircraft by October 2008. For information and reservations, call Gator Air at (888) 359-4286 or visit flygatorair.com.

Marathon Aqua Ranch and Symbiologies recently opened to the public at MM 59.8 on Grassy Key. Highlights for visitors include guided educational tours of a seven-acre all-natural saltwater lake nicknamed “Fish Monster Lake.” Up to 60 feet deep, the lake serves as a hatchery to restock the regional fish supply. For information, visit www.marathonaquaranch.com or call (305) 743-6135.

Historic Pigeon Key, a tiny island nestled beneath the Old Seven Mile Bridge at Marathon, is now accessible by a new ferry service or by foot. The 2.2-mile span of the Old Seven Mile Bridge that leads to the island recently was closed to vehicular traffic, including a tram that carried visitors. Today visitors can enjoy guided tours of the museum exhibits housed in an original 1909 building and the fully restored turn-of-the-century buildings, view a film about Pigeon’s Keys busiest era when it housed 400 workers, fish from a pier, and swim and snorkel off the beach. For more information, call (305) 743-5999.

Casa Del Sol Beach Resort, an intimate 11-unit oceanfront property, recently opened to serve luxury travelers at MM 58.3 oceanside on Grassy Key. Close to area attractions including Dolphin Research Center and Curry Hammock State Park, Casa Del Sol offers more than 400 feet of private white sandy beach, including a natural beach entrance, and a 145-foot fishing pier. For more information, visit www.casadelsolbeachresort.com or call (305) 743-0533 or (800) 274-9949.

The Bougainvillea House Gallery has relocated to MM 53.2 gulfside adjacent to the Marathon Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. Now nearly 10 years old, the gallery is home to 17 Florida Keys artists and serves as a cultural center for the Middle Keys. For information, call (305) 743-0808.

Visitors can now take nonstop flights between Charlotte, N.C., and Key West on US Airways through May 3. The Saturday-only flights are operated by US Airways Express partner Republic Airways using 76-seat Embraer 170 aircraft. For reservations, visit www.usairways.com

Continental Connection, operated by Cape Air, has expanded its flight service between Fort Myers, Fla., and Key West because of increased seasonal demand. Through April 30 the airline is to offer seven round-trip flights daily except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when four round-trip flights are offered. For reservations, visit www.continental.com

The Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, located on Key West’s Truman Waterfront beyond the end of Southard Street, offers a new “window” on the living coral barrier reef that parallels the Keys. Florida-based Mote Marine Laboratory recently unveiled its Living Reef Exhibit at the center, highlighted by a 2,400-gallon reef tank featuring fish and invertebrates indigenous to the Keys. For more information, call (305) 809-4750.

Visitors can now use Go GPS Tours’ high-tech handheld global positioning system units to tour the low-key island of Key West at their own pace. The innovative interactive tours use video clips, contemporary and historic photographs, text and audio narration to present the island’s popular attractions, hidden treasures, art and culture, flora and fauna, offbeat history and local color. For information and bookings, call (305) 293-8891 or e-mail [email protected]

Artificial Reefs of the Keys has set May 15 as the retired U.S. Air Force missile tracking ship General Hoyt S. Vandenberg’s scheduled sink date. The 522-foot-long Vandenberg has been in a Norfolk, Va., shipyard with workers removing environmental hazards prior to its scuttling in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Once cleaning is complete, officials with Reefmakers, the project’s facilitator, plan to coordinate towing the vessel to Key West for final preparations. For more information and project updates, visit www.bigshipwrecks.com

The Reach Resort has reopened following a $37 million renovation. The boutique hotel now has a contemporary ambiance that begins in the sleek relocated lobby and continues throughout the 150 guest rooms and suites. All rooms contain customized coconut shell headboards, an LCD high-definition flat-screen television, sectional sofa and beach-themed seats, refrigerator and wet bar area, colorful abstract artwork and roomy redesigned bathrooms with oversized showers. For information and reservations, call (866) 397-6427 or visit http://reachresort.com

For more travel information about the Florida Keys & Key West call toll-free in the U.S. and Canada, 1-800-FLA-KEYS (800-352-5397) or explore the destination’s Web site at www.fla-keys.com

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Courtesy of grouptravelblog.com