Photo courtesy of the FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Construction is ahead of schedule on the new $77 million John’s Pass Bridge, which has a February 2011 deadline to be completed.
TREASURE ISLAND – The long wait for the new John’s Pass Bridge to open is nearly over.
Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Carson said the contract deadline is February and confirmed that Flatiron Construction of Morrisville, N.C., is ahead of schedule.
“Flatiron Construction continues to build the new northbound John’s Pass Bridge,” Carson said in an e-mail. “The contractor is building the roadway approaches to the new northbound bridge and the bridge deck.
“A lot of work under the new bridge still remains to be done,” she added “Bridge piers from the old bridge must be removed. The fender system for the new bridge (which protects the piers from boats) must be finished.
Once this is completed they will switch all the traffic to the new northbound bridge and finish the southbound bridge.”
Treasure Island Mayor Bob Minning, who heard a construction update May 4 from John Couture, assistant district manager for Flatiron Construction, said the two northbound lanes are expected to open within two weeks when the southbound bridge will be closed to install protective fenders.
Minning said the entire project was expected to be complete by the end of June.
“We are very pleased to learn that the bridge will be completed ahead of schedule and that traffic coming into and out of the north end of Treasure Island will return to normal,” said Minning. “That’s a win for everyone.”
If the $77 million project, which began in January 2006, is finished in late June it will be complete eight months ahead of schedule.
The project began with the demolition of the old southbound bridge in 2006. Traffic was moved to the old northbound span.
A new northbound span opened in August 2008. The new southbound span opened in 2009 and traffic was diverted onto that side as work began on the approaches to the northbound span.
When complete, the bridge will feature dual 12-foot lanes in each direction, 8-foot sidewalks on each side, four observation decks, improved lighting, and a new bridge tender house.
The bridge will be 8 feet higher above the pass and the channel underneath will be 40 feet wider.
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