Construction on a new subaqueous intracoastal water main to Anna Maria Island is on — or under — the near horizon.
Manatee County’s Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted May 20 to approve a consent agenda including a $4,167,216.74 agreement with Loxahatchee-based D.B.E. Management LLC, to build the pipeline.
The water main will replace a temporary pipeline on the south side of the AMI Bridge, along the underside of the east half and on the sidewalk of the west half.
That temporary pipeline was installed in 2023 after about 1,000 feet of 16-inch water main built in 1982 collapsed into the Anna Maria Sound after hangers attaching it to the bridge failed.
The current water main was built within about a month, restoring water access to the island, but its position along the west half of the southern sidewalk has closed the walkway.
Construction on the approved subaqueous pipeline is scheduled to begin in a few months and last through late 2026, according to county communications coordinator Ogden Clark.
Clark wrote in a May 22 email to The Islander that the project was expected to result in minor traffic impacts on Manatee Avenue, such as lane shifts and occasional disruptions as materials are delivered.
He added that when the water main is completed and passes testing, the transition from the current pipeline to the new one would be “brief, and likely take place at nighttime when demand is low.”
Following the transition, the current water main will be removed.
