APRIL FOOL: Is Manatee County out on a wire with bridge plan?

A soggy bottom has forced Manatee County officials to make an artistic, and expensive, decision.

Layer upon layer of muck at the bottom of the Manatee River has made building a new span at Fort Hamer "not impossible, but impossibly expensive," according to a county engineer.

With costs soaring to $200 million to build a two-lane span alongside the existing span that opened in 2017, Manatee County commissioners have ditched that plan in favor of a suspension bridge.

Yes, a suspension bridge.

Suspension bridge cable is made out of steel wire, and with the cost of steel sinking the past six months, county officials have estimated the bridge span could be completed for $150 million at current prices.

Making the project more attractive to county officials was the decision to loosely model the span after the Golden Gate Bridge.

Obviously, this would just be a two-lane span, but the cable design would replicate the famous San Francisco landmark in design.

"Certainly, functionality is our No. 1 concern," said Manatee County engineer Bill Toolast. "We obviously needed two lanes in each direction when this project first was approved. So we are paying the consequences today. Doing what we did last time with the first span now seems unrealistic, so as long as we were going to change direction, we thought we could give Manatee County another landmark. We can call the bridge the "Golden Hamer."

In 2017, Manatee County opened the original span of the Fort Hamer bridge at a cost of $23.5 million.

Manatee County Planner Sage Advice said the discussion came up about how Lake Havasu City, Arizona modeled its bridge after the London Bridge. While it is commonly thought the London Bridge was moved to Arizona, only the exterior granite blocks from the original bridge were moved to the U.S. in 1968.

The new London Bridge became such a solid tourist attraction that people visiting the area began to buy land around the bridge. It provided major stimulus to the area.

While much of the area around the Fort Hamer Bridge is either owned or protected, one Manatee County commissioner said, "We can find a way around that. I know a developer who would love to build condos right on the river."

Commissioners talked about building a tourist center and snack bar on the north side of the bridge that would be a steady source of revenue to eventually recoup the expenses of the bridge.

Citizens speaking against the new bridge plan noted that the Golden Gate Bridge cost $35 million to build in 1933-37, which is about $666 million in today's dollars. They were questioning whether Manatee County could get the project complete for $150 million.

However, the Florida Department of Transportation has been seeking more north-south arteries in the area and was considering a new bridge over the Manatee River anyway. So with FDOT throwing its hat into the ring, the bridge project is much more feasible. The only catch is that FDOT is insisting that if it partners with the suspension bridge, Upper Manatee River Road and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard must be made three lanes in each direction from the bridge through to Fruitville Road in Sarasota.

Still, some commissioners argued the cost could be prohibitive.

However, after a contentious two hours of debate, commissioners voted to set aside $8 million for a suspension bridge.

When the debate stalled due to cost, county staff members noted they could transfer funds to the project by suspending any plans for Premier Park in Lakewood Ranch for an indefinite period since "nothing was being done anyway."

A public information meeting for the suspension bridge project is being held 2 p.m. April 15 at Fort Hamer boat launch.