Delve into 12: Bridge Battle

Two bridges proposed for the East County have been a source of contention between Manatee County and residents over the last two years, and discussions on the Tara Bridge and the Fort Hamer Bridge certainly will continue in 2012.

Both projects have been in Manatee County’s transportation plans for decades, and both have faced opposition from nearby residents. Manatee already has spent more than $8 million on the Fort Hamer Bridge and $3 million on the Tara Bridge.

Manatee Commissioner Donna Hayes said both bridges are important for meeting future transportation needs.

“You must plan for the future,” she said. “That’s an essential part of this equation.”

Tara Bridge
Although the Manatee County Commission has taken several votes regarding the Tara Bridge in the last six months, including one to downsize the bridge to two lanes, residents of Tara and other communities remain opposed to the project, which the county believes will relieve traffic on other roadways and improve emergency response times.

Board members canceled a workshop on the bridge, which originally was scheduled for Nov. 15, 2011, because they felt it was “unnecessary.” And a presentation on the topic previously slated for January, also has been postponed. Currently, there is no funding for the project, said Manatee County Building Director John Barnott. However, his department plans to complete a presentation for Manatee commissioners in 2012.

Tara resident Sandy Gilbert is leading the Tara Master Association’s Community Affairs Committee, a group that has been tasked with researching and being ready to fight the bridge, if necessary.

“(Changing the bridge to two lanes) is the lesser of two evils, but it doesn’t change our opposition,” he said. “This is way beyond Tara. There are communities calling me (and asking to get involved).”

Residents of Tara and neighboring communities have concerns the bridge could have negative environmental impacts, and Gilbert said the roadway also would create an increase in traffic on the already-confined Tara Boulevard if it becomes a connector road.

“Here’s a bridge we don’t want that they’re going to tax us to build,” he said. “We don’t need this bridge. It’s a big issue in this area — probably the biggest one.”

Fort Hamer Bridge
Waterlefe residents formally rallied against the two-lane Fort Hamer Bridge in July 2010, citing the project would create increases in traffic along Upper Manatee River Road and cause safety hazards for residents trying to use Waterlefe’s back entrance, among others. The Rye Road Bridge farther east, they said, would satisfy transportation needs just as well.

Based on those comments and others, the U.S. Coast Guard has required Manatee County to expand its Environmental Impact Study to include the Rye Road Bridge and determine whether that structure would meet the county’s needs instead. Manatee County officials say the request already has cost taxpayers $250,000 and has delayed the project, in total, by about a year. Originally, construction was expected to start in July 2011.

Ron Schulhofer, Manatee County’s director of Public Works, said the U.S. Coast Guard will solicit more feedback on the project from Manatee County residents in 2012.

“We don’t expect to see it tied up for decades (like has happened with projects before),” he said, noting the bridge’s EIS study should be complete by this month.

The Fort Hamer Bridge, which essentially would connect Upper Manatee River Road to Fort Hamer Park, already is funded by the county over the next five years, or so. Project costs are estimated at about $30.09 million, with about $13 million already appropriated and another $9.8 million programmed for the project in both 2012 and 2013.

Manatee County’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan had planned for construction for the bridge to run from July 2011 to September 2013.

A tentative timeline for the project now shows public meetings in April and July, with a re-launching of the design process in August. Manatee County expects to have 100% of design plans complete by January 2013.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

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