- March 17, 2026
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At Christ Church last week, a meeting hosted by FDOT attracted dozens of Longboat Key residents, and with them a wide range of opinions.
The topic was how to replace the Longboat Pass bridge connecting Longboat Key to Anna Maria Island. While FDOT has not ruled out the possibility of leaving the bridge in place, aka the no-build option, most residents understand the need to replace the 69-year-old drawbridge.
Keeping the existing bridge in working order would cost $92.3 million over the next 18 years, according to a preliminary engineering report by FDOT.
Replacing the bridge would cost even more, but any replacement would be expected to stay in service for at least 50 years. While three replacement options are being evaluated, one has been labeled the preferred alternative by FDOT: the 78-foot clearance fixed span. With a $137.8 million expected price tag, it would be tens of millions of dollars less than the two drawbridge options being considered.
Among the three options FDOT presented to the community during preliminary meetings in 2024, the fixed span option prompted the most blowback. Residents and the Town Commission both objected to the aesthetic of the fixed-span design, which at 78 feet above the water level would be taller than the Ringling Causeway Bridge that connects Sarasota to Bird Key. Those opinions by community members are still relevant and were shared by some at the latest public meeting.
“To me, it just doesn’t fit the barrier island community,” said Longboat Key resident Tom Simonian. “It’s just too much, it’s too high and they haven’t done enough studies prior to making this decision in my opinion.”
Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps said he doesn’t see any issues for the town with the proposed high span fixed bridge because the highest point of the bridge will be closer to Coquina Beach than Longboat Key. The bridge would increase height at a 4.5% grade starting at where the current bridge begins at the very north tip of Longboat Key. The Ringling Causeway has a 5% grade for comparison.
Adam Rose, an FDOT Project Manager, said now is the best time to share input and feedback on a potential bridge replacement. The project is currently in the Project Development & Environment Study phase, a preliminary study done to comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act that comes before the design phase begins.
“During the PD&E phase we take a lot of things into consideration. Not just environmental, but social as well,” Rose said. “This is the phase where comments mean the most.”
While there was pushback, there was also a lot of support for the fixed-span option. The lower cost, higher reliability and a lack of temporary closures for drawbridge openings were some reasons for the support. And for some boaters, the high clearance is a plus. Mark Fishman has a 71-foot tall sailboat he docks at Longboat Key Moorings. Once the Cortez Bridge is replaced in the next few years, Longboat Pass will be the only way he can take his boat out of the Bay and into the Gulf.
“I live here year-round. I’m a year-round resident and a year-round resident. (A shorter clearance bridge) would be devastating for me,” Fishman said. “That means I can’t keep my boat here, which probably means I’m going to move. And I love it here.”
Those who missed the meeting can still submit their feedback online until March 23 on the project website (swflroads.com/project/436676-1) or by emailing Project Manager David Turley at [email protected]. There is also a virtual hearing scheduled Tuesday with registration required online at tinyurl.com/SR789LBK.
We asked a half-dozen Longboaters at the forum to expand on their bridge-plan thoughts. Here's what they said.
Cathy Ross: “I know with a drawbridge that it’s going to be manned. It does continue to back up the traffic, and from what they told me, this bridge will not have that, and neither will the Cortez Bridge. So that will make traffic flow better. That sounds good to me. People might complain about the height, but I think it’s going to be fine. It’ll be good exercise to get up and down the bridge.”
Tom Mayers: “We want something that we can rely on for the next 50 years. We want something that’s substantial and we don’t want an artificial impediment to movement like a drawbridge. If you can avoid a drawbridge, that makes one less thing to go wrong. And it’s cheaper.”
Joan Bergstrom: “I think visually it’s gorgeous. It’s mighty, it’s elegant, it’s strong. I think it’s just such an improvement. And then the privacy it affords the people. When the drawbridge is up and traffic is backed up and they’re playing the music real loud and they have the boom, boom, boom and the motorcycles and the fumes and they’re all waiting. It’s not nice.”
Irina LaRose: “I think we all feel that we would like something that’s more efficient for traffic purposes, so obviously no drawbridge that’s opening. That would certainly improve the traffic situation. But our population is over 65 for the most part and they like to walk and bike. They are not comfortable with the higher span because it will impact their ability to easily walk and bike. If people can’t walk and bike that elevation, then their exercise routine stops at the foot of the bridge now. In a perfect world, we would love a fixed span at the absolute lowest possible height, whether that’s 45, 60, 65 maybe. But what they’re presenting now is a span that’s even higher than the Ringling Bridge, and how many people do you see walking and biking across the Ringling Bridge on a regular daily walk?”
Tom Simonian: “I think the structure they’re proposing is more of a structure is more of a structure for a metropolitan area, not a barrier island beach community. It’s going to change the entire aesthetics, environment and look and feel. A 90-foot bridge compared to a 17-foot bridge now is going to be a big structure that’s going to be visible for miles and miles away. It’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.”
Mark Fishman: “My concern is that I need a way to get out into the Gulf. I need passage from the Bay to the Gulf. I can’t go south because the Ringling Bridge is 65 feet. I used to go north through the Cortez Bridge and then the Anna Maria Bridge, but now they’ve committed to making the Cortez Bridge 65 feet. I dock my boat at Longboat Key Moorings, and now the only way out will be the Longboat Pass bridge. If they do something like a 65-foot bridge over Longboat Pass, I’m boxed in. I gotta leave.”
