CORTEZ – When the new 65-foot-high Cortez Bridge is constructed, it won’t be a drawbridge, so a bridgetender will no longer be needed, and a Cortez group wants to save the bridgetender’s booth at the top of the bridge.
The Cortez Village Historical Society (CVHS) has opened discussions with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) about obtaining and preserving parts of the structure.
“I don’t have a specific idea in mind of what this is going to be,” CVHS President Cindy Rodgers said. “I’m hoping that we can brainstorm some ideas.”
On Aug. 16, representatives from FDOT, including Cortez Bridge Project Manager Ryan Weeks, visited the Cortez Cultural Center.
“This is my first time here and I really would like for us to look at some of the alternative items and walk the bridge, talk about some different things, things that would be easy to remove and display here,” Weeks said.
Rather than transport the entire building, which is a costly endeavor, discussions centered around preserving parts of the building.
“We’re interested in the stuff that’s in there,” Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) member Alan Garner said.
Some of the potential items for preservation discussed by CVHS and FISH members are the controls, lights and swing arms.
“Our discussions at FISH were what does that have to do with the actual village?” FISH Treasurer Jane von Hahmann said. “The more we thought about it, we thought Florida Maritime Museum might be a better fit, but we continue to discuss it.”
“As the link between Cortez and the Gulf Islands, the Cortez Bridge is part of our history. How many times have we traversed that bridge, getting that first glimpse of the sparkling Gulf on the other side, watching the pelicans dive for their dinner and people fishing for theirs,” Rodgers said. “It’s a part of Cortez history and we’d like to preserve what we can of that story for future generations. On the new bridge, there will be no bridgetender building or bridgetender. Eventually, drawbridges will probably become a thing of the past.”
Following tours of the center and the FISH Preserve, representatives from FDOT, CVHS, FISH and the Florida Maritime Museum headed to the bridge for a tour of the bridgetender house.
“I think we had a very good (and full) day – meeting at the Center, Alan and Jane gave a narrated tour of the preserve, lunch at Star Fish, then a trek to the bridge,” Rodgers wrote in an Aug. 16 email to The Sun. “We were able to go inside and to the downstairs area as well, and talk to the bridgetender. Which made me realize we really need to do oral histories with these guys; one of them has done this job for about 30 years – what stories he must have!”
Rodgers said CVHS will compile a wish list of what they would like to have and FDOT will let them know what is possible.
The drawbridge was constructed in 1956 with an estimated 50-year service life and multiple bridge repair and maintenance projects have occurred within the past 20 years.
The design phase of the new bridge began in October 2019 and is anticipated to be completed in spring 2025. The construction project will be awarded to the chosen contractor in summer 2025 with construction slated to begin in late 2025 or early 2026, according to the Cortez Bridge Project website, www.cortezbridge.com.
