A new bridge likely will come to the pass.
The Florida Department of Transportation released preliminary work March 5 from its project development and environment study on the Longboat Pass Bridge connecting Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key on State Road 789.
The materials, prepared for a workshop 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 14, at Christ Church, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, indicate that rehabilitation of the drawbridge is a poor option.
An “evaluation matrix” of four possibilities for the bridge shows too many negatives for the “no build” alternative but positives for three new bridges, including low-level and mid-level bascules and a high clearance, fixed bridge, all with lifespans of 75 years.
A low-level bascule, with a 23-foot vertical clearance, would reduce the number of bridge openings by 4% and a mid-level, with a 36-foot vertical clearance, would reduce openings by 35%.
The fixed bridge — aka megabridge — would have a 78-foot vertical clearance.
A PD&E study is a formal process of determining a preferred action based on an analysis of impacts to social, cultural, natural and physical environments.
The DOT launched its Longboat Pass Bridge study in February 2020 to evaluate alternatives in the SR 789 corridor from Coquina Beach on AMI to North Shore Road on LBK.
The DOT, in its workshop materials, stated potential impacts to endangered species would be “low” and impacts to seagrasses, wetlands and public lands would be the same regardless of the “new build” choice.
The DOT would not need to acquire rights of way for a new bridge. However, access to Coquina Beach would change with a megabridge alternative, shifting about 500 feet to the north.
All three new bridges still would have two travel lanes, but the bridge section would be wider, with two 12-foot shoulders and two 12-foot shared-use paths.
The least expensive option would be the fixed bridge, with an estimated cost of $93.3 million.
The estimated cost for the mid-level bascule is $133.9 million and the estimated cost for the low-level bridge is $133.2 million.
The PD&E study is still ongoing, with a public hearing on the project not expected until early 2025 and the approval of a design concept due in late 2025.
The DOT already recommended high-clearance, fixed bridges to replace the island drawbridges on Cortez Road and Manatee Avenue.
About the project
More information about the PD&E — budgeted to cost $2,125,000 — is at swflroads.com/sr789/longboatkey.
Project manager Patrick Bateman can be reached at patrick.bateman@dot.state.fl.us or 863-519-2792.