Project still expected to be completed before end of year
As work continues on the Siesta Drive bridge to Siesta Key, intermittent, overnight lane closures will continue through November, Nancy Morgan, a community outreach specialist for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), is reminding the public.
Those lane closures will take place between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. “as crews work on the mechanical components [of the structure],” a news release says. The overnight work also will involve repairs to signal assemblies, the release adds.
“Crews will work on one lane at a time, alternating sides,” the release notes.
The purpose of the $4.3-million bridge rehabilitation is to “minimize the effects of the aggressive marine environment,” the release explains. The project “consists of concrete maintenance, rehabilitation of existing mechanical and electrical systems, and structural steel work and steel coating replacement,” the release points out.
This is the link to the project page.
FDOT still anticipates completion of the work before the end of this year, the release says.
Drivers also should be aware that, while the mechanical and electrical systems of the bridge are being tested, drivers may experience occasional, longer-than-normal waits for the bridge to open or close, the release continues. “Testing will be done along with normal bridge operations if possible,” the release adds.
Motorists may wish to use the Stickney Point drawbridge or allow for additional travel time, the release continues.
As for marine traffic: The release notes that from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., single-leaf openings will be necessary to accommodate mechanical and electrical work through Nov. 30. At night, it says, bridge openings will continue to be reduced to four, “to accommodate the machinery testing and calibrations.”
Further, the release points out, “A four-hour notice is required for full daytime openings during this period and for evening bridge openings.”
The bridge project began in April, after Easter.
Prior to this initiative, the last time FDOT conducted major maintenance work on the Siesta Drive bridge was in 2012.