|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Construction set to begin soon on causeway bridge
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007
 |
![[Image]](/content_images/012507_bee-01.jpg) |
| TBN FILE PHOTO |
| The aging Belleair Beach Causeway drawbridge will be replaced by a fixed, high-rise span. |
|
|
BELLEAIR SHORE – Construction is likely to begin on the new Belleair Beach Causeway Bridge by the end of February, according to the project manager, county engineer Tony Horrnik.
Belleair Shore Town Commissioner Robert E. Hayes Jr. said many concerns remain for local residents. Primarily, residents will face sporadic closures of the 50-year-old drawbridge that is being replaced as required by construction, he said.
At the Jan. 17 Town Commission meeting, Hayes said that during a recent meeting with Horrnik and contractors he urged that electronic message boards be located farther away from the bridge than originally planned.
Hayes said the planners agreed the board should be located near the intersection of West Bay Drive and Indian Rocks Road and north and south of the causeway on Gulf Boulevard.
“Otherwise, we’ll have people making some dangerous turns,” when they reach the construction site, Hayes said.
The commissioner also reported that it is unlikely the project would be completed within its scheduled 2.5 years. He said it will probably take at least three years just with routine weather delays. He assured the commission, however, that the contractors would be penalized for any unwarranted work delays.
Other concerns, Hayes added, include potential pollution, noise and dust. He said some night work is being planned and that noise or lights might affect nearby homes.
The latest controversy over the project has been resolved with the contractor agreeing to move construction trailers to the county park adjacent to the bridge. Horrnik said residents of the Harbor Club condominiums in Belleair Bluffs had objected to having the trailers in their parking lot.
The boat ramp and other water access sites along the causeway will be closed throughout construction, Hayes said.
Horrnik said a final pre-construction meeting is set for Jan. 29 at which time the contractors could be given the nod to begin work.
“There could be some work actually begun before the end of the month,” Horrnik said.
At this time last year Horrnik had predicted construction would begin on the $72 million project last fall. Work, however, was delayed when the County Commission stalled funding.
The commission approved funding in October and the contract was awarded to two area construction firms: Johnson Brothers contractors for the superstructure and roadway and to Misner Marine for underwater work.
First approved in 2000, the project will include a new high-rise span over the Intracoastal Waterway using the poured cement pylons as were used in Clearwater’s new Memorial Bridge.
The drawbridge, erected in 1950, has been frequently plagued by malfunctions in its mechanisms that have tied up traffic over a key access route to the beaches. This kind of problem will be eliminated by the new span, which will rise high enough for all marine vessels to pass underneath through a wide, navigable channel. The new bridge will be north of the existing bridge, rising to some 75 feet over the waterway with new approaches at each end.
Some property owners have opposed the new bridge plan, claiming that it would detract from local views.
Wesley Eaton of the Harbor Club condo association led opposition to the bridge 10 years ago and still thinks it’s a government boondoggle.
“We’re resigned now to the fact that there’s nothing we can do about it,” Eaton said during an interview last week. “We still think this is going to make our taxes go up and increase traffic so we’ll have an even more dangerous job getting from the condos onto West Bay.”
Eaton said he had unsuccessfully sought to have a traffic light installed so residents could more safely enter the busy roadway that has a short sight-distance up a hill east of the apartments.
Eaton said residents will be further endangered when the high-rise bridge is completed, giving the drivers short-sight distance in both directions. Eaton noted there are 230 units in the condominiums with two of the three buildings parking lots emptying directly onto West Bay Drive.
|
Article published on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tampa Bay Newspapers
9911 Seminole Blvd.
Seminole, FL 33772
(727) 397-5563
Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
|
|
