Project to entail temporary nighttime road closures
Both the Siesta Key Association (SKA) and the Siesta Key Condominium Council have alerted their members to the fact that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has scheduled maintenance work for the Siesta Drive bridge that connects the northern part of Siesta Key to the City of Sarasota.
That project is expected to get underway in coming weeks, the nonprofit organizations have reported. Its completion, FDOT says, is anticipated late this year.
In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry, Patricia Pichette, a communications specialist with FDOT District One — which includes Sarasota County — wrote in a Feb. 25 email, “At this point in time, there is no firm start date on the maintenance project for the north bridge to Siesta Key. When we have a start date, FDOT will update both the project webpage and our weekly RoadWatch report.”
Temporary nighttime lane closures may be required, FDOT points out in a fact sheet, adding, “Bridge openings to test mechanical systems will coincide with normal openings when feasible.”
The fact sheet that the Condominium Council leaders distributed to its approximately 7,000 households explains that the work will include repairs of concrete, “such as sealing cracks and chips,” as well as “structural steel repairs and recoating, and maintenance of existing mechanical and electrical systems to maintain the bridge’s service life.” The expense of the undertaking will be approximately $4.3 million, the fact sheet notes.
“These improvements will enhance the reliability of this critical connection between Siesta Key Island and the mainland,” the fact sheet continues. “[A]ccess across the bridge will be maintained throughout the project,” it adds.
The project webpage says that the length of the bridge is 0.24 miles.
A search of past News Leader articles found that the last time extensive maintenance of the north bridge began was in the late spring of 2012.
Prior to the start of that work, FDOT staff and consultants conducted a public meeting at Siesta Key Chapel, stressing that the contractor would keep the bridge open during the undertaking, though misinformation had spread that both lanes would be closed at various times.
The primary work on the bridge then was the replacement of decking and sidewalk steel grating. The bridge-tender house also was renovated, and repairs were made to the concrete and steel in the movable deck.
The bridge was constructed in 1972, the FDOT representatives noted. Department research at that time showed that 16,000 vehicles crossed the bridge each day.
A News Leader search for the latest annual average daily traffic count for the north bridge found it to be 17,800. That figure was for 2024, the department pointed out.