2015 Issues to Watch: County to build bridges

EAST COUNTY — Manatee County is driving forward with plans to improve traffic flow by constructing more roadway connections.

Kent Bontrager, project manager for Manatee County Public Works, said plans for both the Braden River Bridge, part of the 44th Avenue extension, and the Fort Hamer Bridge are moving forward, with design and/or construction starting in several months.

To the west, Manatee County will acquire land and complete design work required to advance construction of the 44th Avenue East extension, which, when finished, will extend 44th Avenue East from Cortez Road and its beaches in the west to Lakewood Ranch in the east.

Five segments of the roadway remain, including three in the East County area.

In December, county staff selected Woodruff and Sons to construct the portion of 44th Avenue East from 30th Street East to 45th Street East, at a cost of $10.4 million. The contract, which will go before Manatee County commissioners for approval Jan. 13, would guarantee work is completed in 18 months.

Construction would start in February, Bontrager said.

The next segment to the east includes the Braden River Bridge project and runs eastward roughly to the northern end of Creekwood Boulevard. The U.S. Coast Guard approved the bridge Sept. 29, advancing the project by several months.

“Now, we can do the design and permitting of the section to Creekwood,” Bontrager said. “You won’t see much, but we’re (starting) design.”

“We pretty much know where the road is going to go, although there are some alternatives we’re looking at. It’s all within that 44th Avenue corridor,” he said.

Commissioners are expected to vote on the contract this month, he said.

Design work likely will take about 18 months. Manatee has budgeted about $33 million in total project costs.

And, the county also is working on the final future project, which would span from Cooper Creek Boulevard to just west of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. The project is estimated to cost $29 million and will have significant land acquisition challenges. It will have to go over Interstate 75 and also over a water storage pond for Manatee County’s Waste Water Treatment facility off Lena Road.

And while 2015 primarily will be a year of planning for most of the 44th Avenue roadway, it will be a year of beginnings for a bridge across the Manatee River, just north of the Waterlefe community.

After decades in Manatee County’s transportation plans — including in the county’s 1968 concept development plan — the county finally will begin construction on the Fort Hamer Bridge, which will connect Upper Manatee River Road to the south with Fort Hamer Park to the north.

County officials opened and reviewed bids for bridge construction Jan. 6.

“It’s a $30 million project,” Bontrager said. “It’ll probably take them about two weeks to review the bids.”
Once a contractor is selected, county commissioners will approve the contract.

Bontrager said he hopes construction on the two-lane bridge, which is slated to be 2,200 linear feet and have 10-foot shoulder/auxiliary lanes in both directions, will start in late February or early March.

“The road will always be open, but there could be some detours or flagmen, which will cause delays,” Bontrager said of Upper Manatee River Road. “We’ll keep it minimal, but it will impact traffic.”

The project includes the widening of Upper Manatee River Road from State Road 64 to its sharp eastern bend from roughly a 22-foot road to a 24-foot roadway with 4-foot paved shoulders and a sidewalk on the west side.

“It brings it to standard, now that this is going to be a thoroughfare,” Bontrager said. “You wouldn’t think a foot does much, but it does; it enhances safety.”

Waterlefe resident Ken Bumgarner said some residents of the community still worry about the bridge’s impact.

“I know there are some residents who prefer not to have it built, but obviously that’s not going to be the case. We’re working with the county staff and commissioners to hopefully have a good procedure,” he said. “Time will tell. We’ll be interested to see how it goes.”

County officials say the bridge will provide a critical north-south alternative that improves EMS response, access to hospitals and improves level of service.