BRADENTON BEACH – The city of Bradenton Beach is joining plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that opposes replacing the existing Cortez Bridge drawbridge with a fixed-span bridge.
On Thursday, March 18, Mayor John Chappie and Commissioners Marilyn Maro, Jan Vosburgh and Jake Spooner voted in favor of the city becoming the fifth plaintiff in the federal lawsuit. Commissioner Ralph Cole did not attend Thursday’s meeting.
The commission-approved motion states the city’s legal costs are not to exceed $15,000. At the request of City Attorney Ricinda Perry, attorney Chuck Johnson will provide the city’s outside legal counsel in this matter.
In 2019, the commission unanimously adopted a nonbinding resolution opposing the proposed fixed-span bridge. The city will now join former Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash, former Manatee County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann, a longtime Cortez resident, and Cortez residents Joe Kane and Linda Molto as plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit filed in March 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.
The lawsuit names the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), FDOT Secretary Kevin J. Thibault, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration Administrator Nicole R. Nason as defendants.
The lawsuit challenges FDOT’s plans to replace the existing Cortez drawbridge, built in 1956, with a fixed-span bridge that provides 65 feet of vertical clearance. According to a 2015 FDOT case study, the existing drawbridge provides 17.5 feet of vertical clearance when the bridge is down. As a compromise, the lawsuit’s plaintiffs support a new drawbridge with 35 feet of vertical clearance.
FDOT spokesperson Brian Rick said in February that the fixed-span bridge originally estimated to cost $66.5 million is now expected to cost $77 million due to inflation. FDOT District Secretary L.K. Nandam also cited that $77 million figure during a presentation he gave in January. Both FDOT representatives indicated the bridge replacement project is currently moving forward as planned. The project is now expected to be put out to bid in late 2025, with construction to start in 2026.
Seeking city assistance
On March 4, von Hahmann asked the city commission to consider joining the lawsuit. On March 18, McClash made his plea to the commission.
“It’s been a little over a year since we filed our claims against the 65-foot fixed bridge,” McClash said.
He noted the plaintiffs are not trying to prevent the existing drawbridge from being replaced, but feel it’s important to the Cortez community to challenge FDOT’s plans to replace it with a much larger fixed-span bridge.
McClash said the lawsuit includes five claims for relief that question whether FDOT followed federal rules during its decision-making process. The legal challenge was filed according to the federal Administrative Procedure Act. McClash said the plaintiffs originally attempted to challenge the bridge planning process at the state level, but because FDOT assumed the responsibility of the federal government for the project, the challenge must be filed in federal court.
“It’s a review of the record. It’s not a typical lawsuit. We’re at a point now where DOT is responsible for producing the administrative record – everything they did to follow procedures required to comply with the federal rules. Once we receive that, we’ll be able to determine what specific rules they did violate. We have reason to believe there were a few,” McClash said.
Claims for relief
The first claim for relief alleges FDOT failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regarding the evaluation of the potential socio-cultural effects a fixed-span bridge could have on the impacted communities.
McClash said these concerns include community cohesion, local plan consistency and mobility.
“There was a list of things FDOT was supposed to do during this evaluation that we feel they failed to do,” he said.
The second claim for relief alleges FDOT failed to comply with NEPA requirements when reviewing the bridge’s potential aesthetic effects.
“How will the bridge affect vistas and viewsheds and blend visually with the area adjacent to many community focal points?” McClash said.
The plaintiffs believe FDOT failed to make the public aware that a fixed-span bridge will require noise barrier walls near the touchdown points on the Cortez and Bradenton Beach ends of the bridge. McClash said the proposed touchdown area in Cortez would extend approximately 200 yards farther east than it does now.
“There has to be a wall-like structure built to hold up the dirt. You’re creating this wall that divides Cortez, which is something that’s not allowed in our opinion,” McClash said.
The third claim for relief alleges FDOT used inaccurate survey data that demonstrated a bias for a fixed-span bridge, and thus failed to comply with its own policies regarding NEPA compliance.
McClash disputes FDOT’s claim that a fixed-span bridge would increase the level of service for motorists using the bridge from a level D to a level B.
“Whether the bridge is up or not, you’re not going to improve it to a level B. If you have a fixed bridge, there are more cars parked on top of the bridge,” he said.
The fourth claim alleges FDOT failed to comply with NEPA flood plain requirements.
“They didn’t do any flood plain analysis,” McClash said.
The fifth claim alleges FDOT failed to satisfy NEPA requirements about informing elected officials and community members of the details included in the Project Development and Environment review.
“They’re supposed to look at the unique characteristics of the geographical area such as proximity to historic or cultural resources, wetlands and also the effect on human environments,” McClash said.
He also said he’s not aware of a light pollution analysis being conducted.
McClash believes the city joining the lawsuit would give the plaintiffs a stronger position in a courtroom setting or during a review of the case conducted by a judge.
“We asked for a judge to provide some type of judgment that they did, in fact, violate some of these rules. What you’re debating with the federal court is that the records exist and FDOT violated the rules of picking this bridge,” McClash said.
“We also provide that they consider the 35-foot bridge is a viable option compared to the 65-foot bridge. The 35-foot bridge would fit between the shorelines of where the existing bridge is,” McClash said, noting that option would not require noise walls.
“Hopefully, we could convince FDOT that’s still a viable option,” he said.
McClash proposed starting a GoFundMe fundraising effort to help offset future legal costs incurred. He also said he could continue to do most of the “heavy lifting” in this case.
Commission consideration
Perry said the city doesn’t want to be seen as leading the charge for the original pro se plaintiffs, who are representing themselves. She also said she doesn’t currently have time to represent the city in this case, which is why she recommended Johnson.
Vosburgh said she lived in Utah when a new highway was built to accommodate the winter Olympics. Vosburgh said the noise walls associated with that project had the unintended effect of creating more noise.
“It was horrible,” she said.
Spooner said he likes the idea of starting a GoFundMe account to help offset the legal costs incurred.
Maro said she supports joining the lawsuit because she doesn’t want to see Cortez – one of the last working fishing villages in Florida – negatively impacted by a fixed-span bridge.
“Yes, it is about the village of Cortez, but it’s also about the Island and Bradenton Beach and what we are struggling to preserve and enhance. This doesn’t enhance anything,” Chappie said, adding that a fixed-span bridge is not going to reduce the traffic congestion motorists encounter on Gulf Drive after crossing the bridge.
