New Safer Road Connects the Keys Chloe Traffic rolls Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011, on the middle portion of the 18-Mile Stretch, a facet of U.S. Highway 1 that connects South Florida with the Florida Keys. On Wednesday, Florida Department of Transportation officials marked the completion of the almost seven-year, $330 million construction project that provides a safer drive to and from the Keys. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO)