Fort Hamer Bridge Design Put On Hold

The design of the Fort Hamer Bridge project will be put on hold for about five months as planners reevaluate an environmental impact study, officials said Tuesday.

Design work for the county-approved $20 million bridge, which will span the Manatee River and connect Fort Hamer Road to the north with Upper Manatee River Road to the south, had been on track for completion by April, with work set to begin later this year.

Now the U.S. Coast Guard, which is overseeing the project, has asked planners to investigate using the Rye Road bridge as a viable alternative and a way to ease future traffic demands, according to Public Works Director Ron Schulhofer.

Meanwhile, residents of nearby Waterlefe Golf & River Club are calling for mitigation of the noise and traffic they say the Fort Hamer Bridge would create.

At Tuesday's Board of County Commissioners meeting, representatives of homeowners said they are not opposed to the bridge but will be meeting with county staff to discuss their concerns about light and noise pollution and the increased traffic around entrances to their development.

"It's in our back gate," said Ken Bumgarner, chairman of the Waterlefe Community Development District. "The back gate to our community is 40 to 50 feet from where the bridge will be."

Bumgarner said the possibility of walls and the limiting of lights near Waterlefe will be addressed when his group meets with county staff later this month.

Other residents voiced concerns over what they said would be safety hazards created by increased traffic on the bridge's connecting roads. David Payne, who said he was speaking on behalf of several residents of surrounding communities, presented pictures of what he called unsafe conditions for bikers and pedestrians along the shoulder of Fort Hamer Road.

"You've got to fix that road before you put that bridge there, or you'll kill kids," Payne said.

Schulhofer said claims the road is unsafe are "not true," adding that it has been inspected and meets county standards for safety.

Commissioners on Tuesday heard an update from staff and representatives of URS Corp., the engineering firm handling the design, who said the bridge's two lanes have been increased from 11 feet to 12 feet wide and will include dedicated bike lanes as well as a sidewalk for the length of the bridge. The bridge's proposed length has been increased from 2,200 feet to 2,570 feet.

URS project manager Daren Carriere said the bridge itself will not be lit, and the plans have been adjusted to save as much foliage as possible in response to residents' concerns.

One resident suggested implementing tolls on the Fort Hamer Bridge and using the proceeds to fund improvements of nearby roads, an idea that commissioners Larry Bustle, Michael Gallen and Donna Hayes each asked staff to explore and determine if the county would be within its rights to do so.

The project is part of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization's Financially Feasible 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan. It is being funded through impact fees.