Bridge lawsuit deadline looms
State your case.
The deadline for the city of Bradenton Beach to join the Cortez Bridge lawsuit is Aug. 15.
Anti-megabridge coalition leader Joe McClash plans to make another sales pitch for the city to join his lawsuit before the window closes.
At a Bradenton Beach City Commission meeting scheduled for Aug. 5, McClash is slated to present the negative impacts of the Florida Department of Transportation’s plan to replace the 17-foot-clearance Cortez drawbridge with a 65-foot-clearance fixed-span bridge in 2026-27.
McClash, a former Manatee County commissioner, planned to speak to the city officials July 29, but the presentation was delayed a week.
He is one of four complainants challenging the DOT’s decision to build the high bridge in federal court.
The coalition advocates for the construction of a 35-foot-clearance drawbridge replacement, which they maintain will have less of an impact on the communities of Cortez and Bradenton Beach at the span’s landfalls.
Bradenton Beach commissioners directed city attorney Ricinda Perry March 18 to coordinate outside counsel for the city to join the suit and allocated up to $15,000 in costs.
However, in April, the commission reduced the allocation to $5,000 and Perry began one-on-one negotiations with the DOT for dispensations, including:
• Funding for undergrounding utilities on streets near the high bridge;
• The construction of a sidewalk between the Beach House Restaurant and the Gulf Drive Cafe on Gulf Drive;
• Modifications to the multiuse path that runs between Bridgeport condominiums and the bridge and continuing under the bridge.
In June, Perry told commissioners the DOT indicated funding was not available for buried utilities or the sidewalk — projects Perry estimated would cost the agency $4.8 million.
According to Perry, DOT representatives also said the city would need to demonstrate a “clear nexus that the bridge is causing the problems we’re asking them to solve” for the projects to be funded under the megabridge initiative.
Commissioners then directed Perry to scale back the requests and continue negotiations with the DOT.
No mention was made of joining the coalition lawsuit.
Despite multiple attempts July 12, July 15, July 19, July 26 and July 29 by phone and text, Perry could not be reached for comment by The Islander’s press time Aug. 2.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie did not respond to a July 29 phone call from The Islander.
McClash’s presentation will mark the third time an anti-megabridge coalition representative has attempted to bring the city into the fold.
High-bridge fighter Jane von Hahmann, a Cortez resident and also a former county commissioner, entreated the city to join the suit at commission meetings March 4 and May 6.