Work on a water main that carries potable water from the mainland to Holmes Beach is about to get underway again, about a month after work stopped.
However, the line that juts from the Intracoastal Waterway just past the bascule on the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue and runs along the sidewalk to where the bridge meets land won’t be moved soon.
The pipeline on the western half of the bridge’s south sidewalk will remain for about two years.
An Aug. 23 news release from the county stated, “further work to repair” the water main along the bridge would begin Wednesday, Sept. 6, and take two-three weeks to complete.
But Manatee County chief utilities engineer Jim Renneberg wrote in an Aug. 24 email to The Islander that the temporary pipeline on the bridge will remain until it is replaced with a subaqueous pipe in advance of a new bridge to be built by the Florida Department of Transportation.
About 1,000 feet of the bridge’s 16-inch water main, which was installed in 1982, collapsed June 19 into Anna Maria Sound due to corrosion and failed support hangers.
Bradenton-based Woodruff & Sons installed a portion of a new pipeline across the bridge and then June 30 and removed the sunken water main by July 19.
The temporary pipeline was positioned on the south sidewalk from the bascule to the west end of the bridge, closing the pathway from the bridge’s midway point to Holmes Beach.
The original pipeline remains on the underside of the bridge running from the bascule eastward.
Plans to replace the temporary water main with a subaqueous pipeline are “accelerated,” according to Renneberg.
He wrote, “The project is being accelerated but it takes time for design and permitting to occur.”
In the meantime, daily lane closures and periodic one-way traffic can be expected 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. for two-three weeks as Bradenton-based Lovin Contracting completes the final phase of repairs in early September.
The repairs will include installing about 90 additional pipeline support hangers on the remainder of the water main on the east undercarriage of the bridge.
The Aug. 23 news release stated repair work cannot be completed at night due to safety concerns.
“Specific information on any future closures will be provided as needed. Motorists who want to avoid the work zone should consider accessing Anna Maria Island via the Cortez Bridge,” the release stated.
The work is not expected to result in any water service interruptions, according to Renneberg.
People can learn more on the Manatee County government website, mymanatee.org or by calling 941-748-4501.