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Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge

Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News, Featured.

CORTEZ – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is holding a public information meeting on the Cortez Bridge replacement project on Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 6-8 p.m. in the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church’s Pfrangle Hall at 6101 Cortez Road in Bradenton.

Documents to be presented are available online for those who cannot attend at the project website.

The in-person meeting will be an open house-style event that allows attendees to review the bridge replacement project materials at their own pace. No formal presentation will be given, but meeting attendees can pose questions to project team members and leave written comments as well.

Comments can also be emailed to FDOT Project Manager Ryan Weeks at Ryan.Weeks@dot.state.fl.us, mailed to Ryan Weeks/Florida Department of Transportation, District One, P.O. Box 1249, Bartow, Florida 33831-1249 or submitted online at the project website.

The project materials pertain to the construction of a fixed-span bridge that will replace the existing drawbridge. The materials presented for public review include a 19-minute video, presentation slides, display boards and a 3D animation.

The video provides details about the bridge construction process and the aesthetic design elements selected by the 11-member Bridge Aesthetics Committee (BAC), which includes local residents, business owners and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie.

Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge
The Cortez Bridge drawbridge was built in 1956 with an anticipated 50-year service life. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The narrated video notes the existing drawbridge that will be replaced 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 90% completed plans will be submitted in the summer of 2023. Final design plans will be submitted in the spring of 2025. The construction project will be awarded to the chosen contractor in the summer of 2025 and construction is slated to begin in late 2025 or early 2026.

The new fixed-span bridge will be 2,930 feet long and consist of 19 spans. The existing drawbridge is 2.616 feet long, with 53 spans.

Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge
The new Cortez Bridge will be built north of the existing drawbridge. The top image shows the Bradenton Beach end of the bridge. The bottom image shows the Cortez end of the bridge. – FDOT | Submitted

The new bridge will be built north of the existing bridge, with horizontal curves introduced at each end of the bridge to bring the alignment back to match the existing roadway alignment. Motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists will continue to use the existing bridge until the new bridge is capable of handling that traffic.

A minimum vertical clearance of 65 feet will be provided above the 100-foot-wide navigational channel located below the center of the bridge and delineated by a fender system.

Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge
The new bridge will provide at least 65 feet of vertical clearance at its highest point, with a delineated navigation channel below. – FDOT | Submitted

There will be retaining walls at four locations: two at the west end of the bridge and two at the east end of the bridge. The walls will serve as transitions from the bridge to the roadway. The BAC selected a multi-wave design pattern for the walls.

Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge
Retaining walls will be built at both ends of the new bridge. – FDOT | Submitted

BAC members considered nine different pier styles and selected multi-column piers with cheek walls. The committee considered nine pedestrian railing alternatives and chose the wave infill pattern. They considered three overlook options and selected the rounded, open overlook shape, without benches.

The BAC members selected the color pallet that will include blue railings, sand/tan for the bridge and piers and white and off-white for accents. They also selected the outside face lighting option.

Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge
The new bridge will feature blue railings and light poles. – FDOT | Submitted

Three stormwater retention ponds will be located along the west end of the bridge in Bradenton Beach: one in front of the Bradenton Beach police station, one in front of the Bradenton Beach Marina and another in front of the Bradenton Beach Marina that will extend under the first span of the bridge and require the existing pedestrian and bike path under the bridge to be reconfigured.

Cortez Bridge presentation details fixed-span bridge
A new road called Hunters Point Way will connect Cortez Road to 127th Street West. – FDOT | Submitted

One retention pond will be located on the east end of the bridge, near the Hunters Point Resort & Marina property. The eastern side of the project will also include the construction of a new road called Hunters Point Way that will connect Cortez Road and 127th Street West and provide access to the Seafood Shack, Tide Tables and the other businesses and homes in that vicinity.

City of Bradenton Beach not joining Cortez Bridge lawsuit

City of Bradenton Beach not joining Cortez Bridge lawsuit

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News, Cortez, Featured.

BRADENTON BEACH – The city is not joining a federal lawsuit that opposes the replacement of the Cortez Bridge drawbridge with a higher fixed-span bridge.

The city commission reached this 3-2 decision on Thursday, Aug. 5 in response to plaintiffs Joe McClash and Jane von Hahmann’s final pleas for the city to join the lawsuit filed in March 2020 with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

The lawsuit names the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the Federal Transportation Authority and the U.S. Department of Transportation as defendants. The federal agencies were later dismissed from the lawsuit and FDOT is the lone remaining defendant.

McClash and von Hahmann are former Manatee County commissioners and von Hahmann is a longtime Cortez resident. Cortez residents Linda Molto and Joe Kane are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. During Thursday’s commission meeting, McClash and von Hahmann said the Cortez-based Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) – which von Hahmann is a member of – is joining the lawsuit as an additional plaintiff.

Mayor John Chappie and commissioners Ralph Cole and Marilyn Maro opposed the city becoming a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Cole said he didn’t think taxpayer funds should be used to oppose a replacement bridge that some taxpayers might support. Chappie again expressed his belief that the plaintiffs should have first sought assistance from the Manatee County Commission. McClash said the county commission has never expressed interest in joining the bridge lawsuit.

City of Bradenton Beach not joining Cortez Bridge lawsuit
Bradenton Beach Commission members Jan Vosburgh, Marilyn Maro, John Chappie, Ralph Cole and Jake Spooner were divided regarding the city joining the federal lawsuit. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The city commission previously agreed to join the lawsuit at a cost not to exceed $15,000. The commission later lowered its not-to-exceed figure to $5,000, but never officially joined the legal challenge.

During Thursday’s meeting, commissioners Jake Spooner and Jan Vosburgh voted in favor of the city joining the lawsuit. Vosburgh expressed her continued support for the city joining at a cost not to exceed $15,000.

Spooner asked whether the city could join the suit without financial exposure to the city and its taxpayers. City Attorney Ricinda Perry said joining any lawsuit could potentially expose the city to attorney fees of an undetermined amount.

McClash again expressed his belief that the plaintiffs’ case would be strengthened by the support of a city government – and that actually was more important than any financial support provided by the city.

McClash and von Hahmann said FISH recently initiated an online fundraising effort in the form of the “Stop the Mega Bridge from devastating Cortez” GoFundMe page. The donated funds will be administered by FISH and be used to help cover attorney fees associated with the legal battle.

Although they did not feel the city should join the lawsuit, Cole and Chappie said they individually oppose the fixed-span bridge and would contribute to the fundraising efforts. Vosburgh and Spooner said they would also contribute.

FISH will host a bridge-related town hall-style meeting at Fishermen’s Hall on Thursday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. The meeting is open to the public. Fishermen’s Hall is located at 4511 124th St. W. in the village of Cortez.

Mediation pending

McClash said a mediation session with the plaintiffs and FDOT is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 25. Stephen Tabano will serve as the mediator at a cost of $350 per hour to be shared by the plaintiffs and defendants.

City of Bradenton Beach not joining Cortez Bridge lawsuit
Fixed-span bridge opponent Joe McClash made a final plea for the city of Bradenton Beach to join the lawsuit. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Tampa-based attorney Matt Farmer will represent the plaintiffs at the mediation session and as the case moves forward. McClash said Farmer estimated his legal representation would cost approximately $25,000 in total.

McClash said the administrative record that details at great length FDOT’s bridge selection process was filed by FDOT on June 30. The plaintiffs were then given 45 days to amend their complaint and add additional plaintiffs. According to McClash, the plaintiffs’ amended complaint was to be filed by Tuesday, Aug. 10.

Regarding the standards of law that apply to this case, McClash said, “We have to find the actions of the FDOT to be arbitrary, capricious, abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance of law. That’s a pretty high standard, but I believe we have two major winning points.”

McClash referenced a law that changed in or around 2018 regarding categorical exclusions to the bridge replacement process that began nearly a decade ago.

“FDOT approved this 65-foot bridge in what they call a Type 2 categorical exclusion. There’s an environmental standard they have to comply with. Usually, they have to do an environmental study. They chose to do an exception. It’s important to note the law changed and they can’t take advantage of this exclusion if there’s a bridge permit required – and they need a bridge permit. Also, if there’s encroachments into the flood plain, they’re not supposed to take advantage of this exclusion,” McClash said.

“When they made their decision in 2019, this rule was in effect. The attorney agrees. They might have really screwed up. That would be to our advantage,” he added.

After Thursday’s meeting, McClash said he understood the city commission’s financial concerns but he was disappointed with the decision to not join the lawsuit.

Settlement offer

In August 2020, the plaintiffs proposed a settlement agreement that called for FDOT to rescind its plans for a fixed-span bridge and instead replace the existing bridge with a new drawbridge that would provide 35 feet of clearance when the bridge is closed. FDOT has not accepted that offer.

Built in 1956, the existing drawbridge provides between 17.5 and 21 feet of clearance when the bridge is closed, depending on the source cited.

In January, FDOT officials said the state agency plans to put the bridge replacement project out to bid in late 2025 and construction is expected to begin in 2026.