Opponents of a high bridge between Cortez and Bradenton Beach question whether the state will listen to the public in a study of alternatives for the bridge linking Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key.
“Public involvement is one of the major components of a project development and environmental study,” said Brian Rick of the Florida Department of Transportation via email March 11.
“Comments and feedback from the public, along with the engineering and environmental analysis, shape the final recommendation from the study,” he continued.
The Longboat Pass Bridge, which carries traffic between Longboat Key and Bradenton Beach — one of three state drawbridges to Anna Maria Island — underwent $5 million in repairs in 2019 and is the subject of a PD&E study that was launched in February 2020 by the DOT.
The DOT already recommends replacing the two mainland-island drawbridges, the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue and the Cortez Bridge on Cortez Road. Both, based on DOT plans, would be fixed-span, 65-foot-clearance bridges. The Cortez Bridge faces a legal challenge and opposition from the community.
Opponents to the Cortez Bridge have raised questions about what voice or influence the public will have on the PD&E study for the Longboat Pass Bridge. This is because the DOT recommended a high bridge replacement for the Cortez Bridge despite many objections, including from people in the Cortez fishing village, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Jane von Hahmann, a Cortez resident, former Manatee County commissioner and opponent of the high Cortez Bridge replacement plan, said in a phone interview March 11 that the DOT ignored public comments, listening only to those who approved of the higher Cortez Bridge project.
“When they held the first public meeting, 68% voted for no updates at all, no improvement and no replacements on the bridge,” she said.
She also said of the DOT, “In all of their comments in the PD&E study, they prefaced results by saying, ‘Of those who wanted a new bridge.’ If you’ve got 68% of people that don’t want it at all, you have a majority.”
Joe McClash, another former Manatee County commissioner and challenger to the Cortez Bridge, feels bridge construction is not the long-term solution for traffic woes.
“We’ve reached a point of saturation with the number of people visiting and the number of people living here,” he said. “Even building a four-lane roadway would not eliminate the congestion that you’re seeing. It’s just limited roadways that have reached their capacity.”
But Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier said the DOT has been cooperative and he’s optimistic the next PD&E study will go well.
“Public involvement is one of the major components of a PD&E study,” Schneier said in a phone interview March 11. “I do know the DOT have been very open with us as a town and very cooperative with us on our ideas. I think they’re a pretty responsive organization. We will pay very close attention to these hearings.”
Longboat Key took a position in favor of the megabridge replacement for the Cortez Bridge and has voiced favor for a similar replacement for the Longboat Pass Bridge.
Meanwhile, Bradenton Beach is contemplating joining the McClash et al lawsuit in opposition of the DOT’s planned replacement of the Cortez Bridge with a megabridge. That bridge is currently in the design phase.
The meeting on the PD&E study for the Longboat Key-Bradenton Beach bridge will be conducted virtually, online at the project website, and also in-person, 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, at the Harbourside Ballroom, 3000 Harbourside Ballroom, Longboat Key.
The DOT’s Rick said, “All comments received through the course of the PD&E study, whether submitted at a formal meeting or hearing or directly to the project manager/project team, are compiled over the course of the PD&E study and are considered along with the engineering and environmental analysis while evaluating alternatives and developing the final recommendation.”
The PD&E is expected to cost $2,125,000, with a completion date in August 2023.
Get in touch
The project manager for the Longboat Pass Bridge PD&E study is Patrick Bateman. He can be reached at 863-519-2792 or patrick.bateman@dot.state.fl.us.
Islander reporter Kane Kaiman contributed to this report.