Crews to work on one lane at a time, alternating sides
Overnight lane closures on the Siesta Drive/State Road 758 bridge to Siesta Key are expected through the end of September, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., a community outreach representative of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is reminding the public.
The lane closures are necessary as “crews work on the concrete bridge deck and apply epoxy overlay protection,” Nancy Morgan explained in an email update issued the evening of Friday, Aug. 28.
Further, she wrote, nighttime work will include “repairs to the existing piling protection.”
Morgan added, “Crews will work on one lane at a time, alternating sides. (Dates and times may change depending on weather or work schedules.)” However, she pointed out, the crews are not scheduled to work on weekends as of this time.
Overnight, bridge openings through Sept. 8 will continue to be reduced to four per night, Morgan added, “to accommodate the curing period needed for cement. A four-hour notice is required for full daytime openings during this period and for evening bridge openings.”
Motorists may wish to use the Stickney Point Road drawbridge, she wrote, “or allow for additional travel time.
“Flaggers, barrels and warning signs will be present to help guide motorists through the construction zone,” Morgan continued, while pedestrians and bicyclists “will be escorted through the work zone.”
Work will proceed beneath the bridge span from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Morgan further noted.
As for marine traffic: She pointed out that, through Oct. 16, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., single-leaf openings are being used to accommodate electrical work.
The FDOT project still is expected late this year, Morgan wrote.
As The Sarasota News Leader has reported, the work on the bridge includes 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, an FDOT fact sheet says.
The most recent, extensive maintenance of the north bridge began in the late spring of 2012.
The bridge was constructed in 1972, FDOT representatives have noted. Department research at that time showed that 16,000 vehicles crossed the bridge each day.
In 2025, FDOT data said the figure was 17,400, which was down slightly from the 2024 count of 17,800.