FDOT still expects project to be completed later this year
Just as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) staff indicated in early March, the maintenance project involving the Siesta Drive drawbridge to north Siesta Key will get underway later this month.
The April 9 RoadWatch report that department staff published for District One, which includes Sarasota County, says the rehabilitation of the structure is expected to start on Monday, April 20. The project is anticipated to be completed before the end of the year, that advisory notes.
In a March 11 update, as The Sarasota News Leader reported, Barbara Catlin, a member of the communications team for the initiative, notified Siesta organizations that the work would begin after Easter, which was on April 5.
Typically, Easter has been considered the end of high tourist season in the county.
Originally, the plans called for the project to begin “early this year,” though no specific timeline was given.
The April 9 RoadWatch advisory says, “Crews will begin needed improvements to minimize the effects of the aggressive marine environment. This bridge project consists of concrete maintenance, rehabilitation of existing mechanical and electrical systems, and structural steel repairs and steel coating replacement.”
It adds that the Initial work will take place beneath the bridge span, “to minimize inconvenience, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Residents should expect noise from equipment throughout the project limits,” which are the span of the bridge, the FDOT project page also points out. The length of the bridge is 0.24 miles, that page adds.
The total expense of the undertaking is $4.3 million, that page also notes.
“No lane closures are scheduled at this time,” the RoadWatch report says. Even so, it points out, “Lane closures are not allowed” between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Further, it says, “Bridge openings will continue as normal.”
The last time a maintenance project took place on the bridge was in 2012, based on News Leader research.