Department stresses priority of completing project ‘as soon as possible’
Late in the afternoon of Feb. 27, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced that, “in an effort to ease traffic congestion,” it would shift its Stickney Point Road drawbridge construction work to overnight hours starting Monday, March 3, at 7 p.m.
“This will continue through completion, approximately the end of March,” the advisory added.
“No bridge work is scheduled over the weekends from Friday through Monday morning,” the advisory noted. Work will continue Monday through Thursday from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m., it said.
“Noise from construction equipment and bridge openings is to be expected,” the advisory pointed out. “The bridge will continue to open for boat traffic.”
In June 2024, FDOT announced that it would begin improvements on the superstructure and substructure of the Stickney Point Road drawbridge.
The $2.4-million project was planned to “extend the bridge’s service life and operational reliability, while mitigating the effects of the harsh coastal environment, severe weather, and wear from the volume of vehicle and marine traffic,” an FDOT news release pointed out.
“The project duration is expected to be 200 days,” that release added.
In FDOT’s District One report on roadwork scheduled in Sarasota County from March 2 through March 8, staff included an extra advisory below the listing for the Stickney Point Road drawbridge project: “Seasonal Traffic: please be aware of additional volumes of traffic both on the water and on the roads as returning snowbirds and seasonal visitors return to our area. Both access points to the island are experiencing heavy traffic volume which is expected to continue during season and spring break. Make your travel plans with this in mind.”
February, March and April typically are the busiest tourist months in Sarasota County, as evidenced by the county’s “bed tax” revenue collections, which come from hosts of all types of accommodations, and data collected by a Tallahassee research firm on behalf of Visit Sarasota County, the county’s tourism marketing office. April generally sees more visitors if Easter comes that month. This year, Easter is on April 20.
Then the FDOT listing for the bridge initiative in the report for March 2 through March 8 provided the following information:
- “The project is prioritized to be completed as soon as possible with crews working six-day weeks.
- “Because additional technical and structural work is needed, completion is now expected in March 2025.”
For more information visit https://www.swflroads.com/project/445942-1.
For real-time traffic updates, visit https://fl511.com/ or dial 511.