Southernmost Point Construction & Restoration Updates

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Key West’s most famous landmark is in the middle of its biggest makeover since it was built in 1983. The Southernmost Webcam is aimed at the original buoy corner at South and Whitehead Streets, so you can watch the restoration happen live. This page tracks what is being done, why, and when the buoy is expected back. We update it as the work moves forward.

Where Things Stand Now

The original buoy is closed to visitors. It has been fenced off and covered since September 2025.
The new seawall is substantially complete. It is higher than the old wall and backed by riprap (large armor stone) to absorb wave action and salt spray. FEMA funding covered part of the cost.
The roadway and plaza project has started. Crews mobilized on September 14, 2026. The city estimated about 180 days of work, which points to early spring 2027, but no official reopening date has been set. By late September the project was roughly 5 percent complete.
A full-size replica buoy is open for photos at the Duval Street pocket park, 1400 Duval Street, one block east of the original.

What's Being Built

There are really two projects happening at the corner:

1. Seawall replacement. The old seawall behind the buoy had been battered for decades by storms, waves and saltwater. The replacement raises the wall and adds a rock revetment in front of it, so the landmark is better protected the next time a hurricane pushes water up against Key West’s south shore.

2. Roadway and plaza reconstruction. This is a $4.25 million project covering South Street from Duval to Whitehead and Whitehead Street from South Street north to United Street. It includes new stormwater drainage, rebuilt roadway, new sidewalks, landscaping and lighting. The Monroe County Tourist Development Council committed up to $1.5 million toward the improvements around the buoy and along Whitehead Street.

When construction wraps up, the buoy itself will be unwrapped, freshly repainted and reopened. One idea raised by a city commissioner is to paint the “Southernmost Point” and “90 Miles to Cuba” lettering on both sides of the marker, so more than one group can take a photo at a time and the famous line moves faster.

Timeline of the Project

June 2025: The City of Key West announces that the seawall and street end at South and Whitehead need major repairs and that a temporary buoy will be built so visitors can still get their photo.
Early September 2025: The replica buoy goes up and settles in the pedestrian plaza at the south end of Duval Street. The original is painted over and boxed in for protection.
2025 to 2026: Seawall replacement, partly FEMA-funded, proceeds behind the construction fence.
September 14, 2026: Crews mobilize for the $4.25 million roadway and plaza project.
Early spring 2027 (estimated): Based on the city’s 180-day estimate, the plaza work could finish around then, followed by the buoy’s repaint and reopening. Construction schedules in the Keys often slip during hurricane season, so treat this as a target, not a promise.

Watching the Work on the Webcam

Because the Southernmost Webcam looks straight at the construction zone, it has become a front-row seat to the project. On weekday mornings you can usually see crews arrive, equipment moving and the site changing from week to week. Evenings and weekends are quieter, and the fenced-off corner sits under the streetlights waiting for its turn.

If you missed something, the Cam Archive keeps images from roughly the past 24 hours, so you can scroll back to see what happened earlier in the day. Longtime viewers are watching for the big moment when the wrapping comes off and the freshly painted buoy is revealed.

Will the Replica Buoy Stay?

Nobody knows yet. The replica at 1400 Duval has turned out to be popular, and it spreads the crowd out, but Key West tourism officials have said it has not been decided whether it will remain as a second photo spot after the original reopens. We will note the decision here when it is made.

Earlier Restorations

This is not the first time the buoy has needed help. It received a full refurbishment in 2005, and after Hurricane Irma damaged it in September 2017, the city brought back Danny Acosta, the artist who painted the original, to restore it. On New Year’s Day 2022 it was vandalized, and nearby camera footage helped identify the people responsible. Read the full story in our history of the Southernmost Point Buoy.

Sources: Key West Citizen, Florida Keys Weekly, NBC 6 Miami.

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