Hearings planned for north-end Longboat bridge project

The Longboat Pass Bridge connecting the northern end of Longboat Key to Coquina Beach is nearing its seventh decade in service, and the Florida Department of Transportation is evaluating a potential replacement.

Two public hearings on the subject, one in-person and one virtual, are tentatively scheduled for March.

“This hearing will allow the public to provide feedback on the proposed project,” said Jason Heironimus, an FDOT spokesperson. “The hearing is an opportunity for the public to voice their concerns and suggestions, which are then considered by the project team.”

The in-person meeting is tentatively planned for March 12, and the virtual meeting is planned for March 17. Meeting times are to be determined, as is the location of the in-person meeting.

The Longboat Pass drawbridge was built in 1957 and reconstructed in 2005 and 2020. The bridge is described by FDOT as functionally obsolete, said Heironimus.

“We are currently meeting with the local governments to finalize the design option. The bridge's rehabilitation is no longer an option. The bridge must be replaced,” Heironimus said. “The final design option will be shown to the public at the hearing.”

In March 2024, public workshops were held where residents were presented with four potential options: renovating the existing bridge, replacing with a 23-foot clearance drawbridge, replacing with a 36-foot clearance drawbridge, or replacing with a fixed span bridge with a 78-foot clearance. The drawbridge options would cost at least $147 million, while a fixed span bridge is much cheaper, about $93 million.

The 78-foot bridge would be taller than the Ringling Causeway Bridge connecting downtown Sarasota to St. Armands and Lido Key. Longboat Key Town Commission wrote a letter to FDOT voicing its opposition to the fixed span design.

“One of the area’s few remaining residential communities immune to high-rises and hotel houses, Longboat has always been connected to its neighbors to the north and south by modest drawbridges over relatively narrow passes,” the letter read.

The bridge replacement project is currently in the Project Development and Environment Study phase, expected to be complete in mid-2026. After the study is completed, a build or no-build recommendation is made that determines whether the project will advance to the design phase.