The Florida Department of Transportation is entertaining comment from Longboat Key officials and residents as it considers the future of the Longboat Pass Bridge.
The DOT in March held a public workshop for community input for the bridge design alternatives proposed as part of a project development and environmental study.
The DOT showed three bridge designs during the workshop — a low-level and mid-level bascule bridge and a high-clearance fixed bridge, each with a projected lifespan of 75 years.
The options for the bridge that links the north end of Longboat Key to the south end of Anna Maria Island on State Road 789 are part of the DOT project, development and environment study.
When that study is released, the DOT will recommend one of the options.
Cost estimates vary for replacement, with the fixed-bridge emerging as the most economical at an estimated $93.3 million. The cost is $133.9 million for the mid-level bascule and $133.2 million for the low-level option.
In a June 28 letter to the DOT, Longboat Key officials recommended a mid-level bascule bridge.
“Our primary recommendation is that the fixed-span bridge, while the less costly option, is not the right solution for several reasons,” the letter states.
The letter says residents of Longboat Key oppose the fixed-span bridge for multiple reasons.
The bridge, at 78 feet, would be higher than the John Ringling Causeway Bridge, requiring a steeper grade of at least 4.5%, potentially leading to safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists due to increased downhill speeds, according to the Longboat Key statement.
Additionally, LBK officials said, the high bridge would not be in keeping with the key’s character as a “low-rise, residential community connected by modest drawbridges.”
The DOT had not responded to the town’s letter directly as of July 5, according to town public information officer Susan Phillips.
But the DOT, in a July 2 email to The Islander, said all comments during the PD&E process carry equal weight in shaping the project’s direction.
“The DOT is currently reviewing and responding to public comments received after the workshop,” DOT public information officer Jason Heironimus wrote in the July 2 email.
“FDOT will continue its review of the three alternatives, public feedback, and the environmental impacts of each alternative prior to making a recommendation for a preferred alternative,” Heironimus continued.
He said the DOT already revised designs based on comments received from the public that all three bridge designs were too wide.
“At this time, FDOT is coordinating with its consultants and partners to produce required environmental and engineering documents in preparation of the public hearing for next year,” he said.
The DOT, during its review, also looked at a “no build” option in which the existing bridge would be remodeled and maintained over time. However, the DOT’s “evaluation matrix” of the four possible bridge designs showed too many negatives for the “no build” alternative.
Longboat Key officials also addressed the need to replace the bridge.
“We all understand that the current structure is beyond its useful life and needs to be replaced,” the town’s letter states.
The bridge replacement will address functional deficiencies in the current structure, which was built in 1957 and underwent remodeling in 2005 and 2020.
With a bridge health index falling below 50, indicating critical deterioration, the DOT prioritized the project to enhance safety and operational efficiency.
Another key consideration under review involves access to Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, which could be altered by the construction of the fixed bridge, shifting entrance points approximately 500 feet northward.
The DOT also has looked at moving the span to the west, bringing the bridge entrance closer to northernmost neighborhoods on western Longboat Key.
The DOT anticipates finalizing a design concept for the Longboat Pass Bridge by late 2025, with preliminary engineering in 2026. The PD&E is scheduled for completion in 2025.
The bridge replacement initiative is part of a broader effort by the DOT to upgrade infrastructure across the state, including recommendations for high-clearance, fixed bridges on Cortez Road and Manatee Avenue to Anna Maria Island.
The Anna Maria Island Bridge replacement project is in the design phase, with design completion expected in 2025.
A new 65-foot-high fixed-span bridge also is being designed to replace the Cortez Bridge between Cortez and Bradenton Beach.
The DOT maintains the larger bridge will ease traffic wait times while those in opposition to the design maintain a midlevel 35-foot drawbridge will not require retaining walls that might block businesses and residences near the entryway to the bridge’s onramp in Cortez.
Earlier this year, a legal challenge to the project’s specifications — specifically, objections to the bridge’s proposed 65-foot height—was dismissed following a federal appeal review, clearing a legal hurdle for the DOT on the way to construction.
While Longboat Key officials oppose a high bridge for their community, the town, in 2017, encouraged the DOT to build a high, fixed bridge on Cortez Road.
A letter from the town to the DOT in 2017 read, “Other communities have seen high fixed-span bridges replace drawbridges with great success. For example, the city of Sarasota went from initially objecting to the higher fixed span bridge (during the planning process) to embracing it as a defining element of their city. The John Ringling Causeway is now considered an iconic landmark and is a prominent and celebrated component of the Sarasota landscape.”
For more information about the Longboat Pass Bridge, contact project manager Patrick Bateman at 863-519-2792 or email patrick.bateman@dot.state.fl.us.