Kate Cassidy Roberts, 3, and her dad Floyd Roberts of Treasure Island drop by Madeira Beach City Hall to examine the displays on the new John’s Pass Bridge.
Images of the John’s Pass Bridge as it will appear in 2011. This is the wave rail that will be featured.
The air rail will allow motorists to have a nice view.
JOHN’S PASS – A mention of the John’s Pass Bridge replacement project brings images of the traffic jams, noise and other construction-related maladies due to last through the current decade.
People attending a public information meeting on the bridge project on March 7 at City Hall were invited to fast-forward to 2011, past the construction stages, and view the gleaming new structure that will rise from the current chaotic scene.
Officials of the Florida Department of Transportation gave voice to the computer simulated graphics that depicted in video and posters the amenities that the bridge will offer the beach communities over its half-century lifespan.
For boaters, the bridge will offer a navigational channel widened from 60 to 100 feet, according to Marian Scorza, FDOT spokesperson. Vertical clearance under the bridge will be increased by 8 feet, meaning larger vessels will be able to pass underneath without the necessity of a bridge opening.
Two 12-foot travel lanes in each direction should keep traffic flowing smoothly, Scorza said. Two types of railing are featured. A wavy railing will be used in the overlooks to provide maximum viewing for pedestrians, while a more open horizontal wire design planned for the roadway will give motorists greater visibility of the seascape, design project manager Adam Perez said.
The travel lanes will be bordered by 8-foot sidewalks, a boon to pedestrians and bicyclists, plus 4-foot inside and 10-foot outside shoulders on each bridge.
Four observation decks will give pedestrians a number of attractive viewpoints in all directions.
Patricia Hubbard, who was a member of the bridge aesthetics committee, pointed out the etched dolphins that will grace the structures.
The FDOT officials praised the work of the aesthetics committee, composed of local citizens, who proposed many of the amenities that have been incorporated into the bridge design.
“People want to see something beautiful, they don’t want to see just concrete. That’s why we have the aesthetics committee,” Scorza said.
FDOT Designer Perez described the new John’s Pass Bridge as one of the department’s “more major aesthetics treatments.
“Eight years ago there was not a lot of thought given to aesthetics in bridge design. Today, you are starting to see aesthetics assume a much more prominent role.”
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