The City of Coral Gables has a total of 244.3 centerline miles of local roads. That is, if all the roads were put together, from beginning to end, it would equal almost 500 miles of swales within the city’s 13-square-mile boundaries.
On Sept. 11, as soon as the all clear was given after Hurricane Irma, the city’s rescue recon teams fanned out through the municipality to clear these roads and establish citywide access for emergency vehicles. After the roadways were cleared, the Public Works Department, along with debris contractors, began the job of collecting, processing, and hauling out debris from local roads and neighborhoods.
In just five weeks since these efforts began on Sept. 16, city crews had collected more than 330,000 cubic yards of debris (as of Oct. 22), the equivalent of the work done in one and a half years of trash collection. And there have been no injuries reported.
In addition, regular bulk trash pickup service has resumed in Coral Gables, as the rest of the city’s sanitation operations return to normal.
The city continues to address the pending trees that need to be righted and the approximately 300 tree stumps that need to be removed in the upcoming weeks.
