Detour around Waterlefe entrance takes positive turn

For the past seven months, a detour on northbound Upper Manatee River Road has taken Waterlefe resident Bill Gratsch more than a mile out of his way to get to the community’s entrance.

On March 1, though, Orlando-based contractor Johnson Bros. Corp. removed the detour and turned on a new traffic signal just north of Waterlefe’s entrance.

“I think it’s great,” Gratsch said, adding he witnessed many near crashes and confused motorists while the detour was in place. “It was a real nightmare with all the changing lanes.”

“I think everyone is happy the detour is over, and it’s over a little earlier than projected,” said Ken Bumgarner, a longtime resident and supervisor on the Waterlefe Community Development District. “We persevered.”

Residents still have concerns about the future roadway, but are waiting to see how it turns out.

Transportation officials predicted the detour could last into April as Manatee County constructs the Fort Hamer Bridge across the Manatee River, connecting Fort Hamer Road in the north to Upper Manatee River Road in the south.

The project shifted a curve in Upper Manatee River Road farther north, just south of Waterlefe’s resident-only back entrance. Now, where there previously was a 90-degree turn in the roadway, there is a traffic signal so vehicles can turn south or east to continue on Upper Manatee River Road, or head north toward the future Fort Hamer Bridge.

“Now that this is open, it should help things,” Johnson Bros. Corp. Area Manager Tom Charles said of the new intersection. “It’s in its final configuration.”

The improvements are part of the overall Fort Hamer Bridge project, which also includes widening both Upper Manatee River and Fort Hamer roads to include bicycle lanes. All three projects, in total, cost about $32.7 million.

Trudy Gerena, public information officer for the Fort Hamer Bridge project, said about 95% of roadway construction is completed for both Fort Hamer and Upper Manatee River roads. Johnson Bros. still must install guardrails and put down the final layer of asphalt and restripe the new road, among other items.

“You wait to do the lift,” Gerena said about installation of the final layer, or lift,  of asphalt. “You don’t want damage while trucks are still delivering material. Once you do the final lift, you are done.”

Johnson Bros. will wrap up those details in the coming months.

Construction of the bridge itself is about 75% finished.

Johnson expects to have the entire Fort Hamer Bridge improvement project finished by the end of summer, Charles said.