Announcement

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) submitted documentation in support of the recommended alternative for the replacement of the Anna Maria Island Bridge to the U.S. Coast Guard on July 28, 2009. FDOT requested comments on the Environmental Assessment and Project Development Summary Report developed as a result of the Project Development and Environment Study conducted since early 2008. The study included State Road (S.R.) 64 from west of S.R. 789 (East Bay Drive) to east of Perico Bay Boulevard, a distance of about two miles. Please see the study location map below.

The recommended alternative includes replacement of the existing drawbridge with a two-lane high level fixed bridge with a minimum vertical navigational clearance 65 feet above the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The new bridge would be built south of the existing bridge and would include two, 12-foot lanes with 10-foot paved shoulders to accommodate bicyclists and disabled vehicles. Ten-foot sidewalks would be included on both sides of the bridge. The sidewalks would be separated from the shoulders by concrete barrier walls.

Replacement, rehabilitation and maintenance alternatives were studied. FDOT recommended the high-level fixed alternative based on engineering and environmental analyses, agency coordination and public comments. Three surveys conducted during the course of the study resulted in a large majority of respondents favoring replacement of the existing bridge with a high-level fixed bridge.

Design, right-of-way acquisition and construction phases for a replacement bridge are not currently funded in the FDOT Five-Year Work Program for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

(Updated June 4, 2010)

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