No work scheduled for period of July Fourth holiday
Overnight lane closures on the Siesta Drive bridge — known as the North Bridge — to Siesta Key are scheduled to begin on Sunday, June 14, and continue through Tuesday, July 14, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has announced.
Between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. during that period, one lane “will be open at all times as crews conduct maintenance and repairs to the concrete bridge deck and apply epoxy overlay protection,” FDOT’s May 28 RoadWatch report for District One counties, including Sarasota, pointed out.
“Motorists can expect flaggers, barrels and warning signs to be present during the overnight work,” the report continued. “Pedestrians and bicyclists will be escorted through the work zone as needed,” it added.
“Work under the bridge will continue during the daytime hours,” the report said.
“Motorists may wish to make alternate plans or allow for extra travel time during the bridge deck maintenance and repair [project],” the report added.
Nancy Morgan, a community outreach specialist for FDOT, noted in a subsequent, May 29 email to leaders of Siesta Key organizations that she had received some questions regarding that update. Therefore, she wrote, she wanted to explain the following: “FDOT normally closes down our projects on holidays for the convenience of the traveling public and for the safety of FDOT crews.”
Thus, she continued, in regard to the July Fourth holiday, no work will be scheduled and no lane closures will be in effect on Friday, July 3.
Morgan also pointed out, “The crews do not work on the weekends for this project so there will be no lane closures on July 4 and 5.”
As The Sarasota News Leader has reported, an FDOT fact sheet about the project — which was distributed early this year to Siesta organizations, including the Siesta Key Association and the Siesta Key Condominium Council — says the bridge initiative 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.
Anyone wishing to stay up-to-date on facets of the undertaking may visit the project webpage at https://www.swflroads.com/project/451280-1.
For real-time traffic updates, FDOT staff advises the public to visit FL511.com.