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Bridge users to see 3-plus years of toil
By KATHY SAUNDERS TREASURE ISLAND -- This might be a good time for drivers to invest in some relaxation tapes. More than three years of bridge construction is scheduled to begin March 24. The neighbors who packed City Hall last week heard of months of demolition, lane closures and electronic message boards. The Treasure Island Causeway project manager and representatives of Johnson Brothers, the company awarded the contract to replace the two approach bridges, presented the details Tuesday night. Work will take place simultaneously on the small bridges east and west of the main drawbridge. The west bridge is near the entrance to downtown before the St. James Condominiums. The eastern approach bridge is in the city of St. Petersburg, close to Park Street. Construction on the approach bridges is expected to last 480 days, according to the city's contract. The cost is $7.9-million, most of which the city received from a state grant. Demolition is expected to begin about two weeks from the start of the project. Crews plan to demolish one side of each bridge at a time, replacing two of the four lanes. Traffic will be one lane each way. On the west bridge, the southern two lanes will go first. Rebuilding that side is expected to take about seven months. Demolishing and rebuilding the northern half should last eight months. It will take another three months to connect the two spans and finish the roadway. On the east bridge in St. Petersburg, the northern half will be demolished and rebuilt in seven months. Then will take four months to replace the southern side. Four more months will be required to finish that approach. The sidewalks on both bridges will be lost for about a year, which upset some residents. When complete, the western approach bridge will have a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot multipurpose path on the south side. The east approach span will have a 10-foot path on the north side only. Residents also were concerned about rush hour traffic backups at Park Street. Scott Samuels, past president of the Yacht Club Estates Homeowners Association, suggested the city work with St. Petersburg officials to close the side streets -- North Causeway Boulevard and South Causeway Boulevard -- just before the eastern approach bridge. That would prevent drivers from cutting through the neighborhoods to avoid the traffic on Central Avenue, Samuels said. "If they don't do that, all hell's going to break loose," Samuels said. Treasure Island public works director Don Hambidge said he would contact St. Petersburg officials to look into the matter. "Rush hour will be difficult," said project manager Jim Phillips. "Obviously we have given thought to all of these during our design phase." Phillips works for E.C. Driver & Associates, the city's bridge consulting firm. After the approach bridges are replaced, the city will begin reconstructing the deteriorating drawbridge, originally built in 1939. That construction is expected to begin in summer 2004. The entire project is estimated to cost $60-million, including the approach bridges. The city plans to seek $20- to $30-million in additional grants and use about $10-million of its own money from the Causeway Bridge fund. It probably will seek bonds for another $10-million. The new bridge will sit 21 feet off the water, as opposed to the current bridge's 5 feet at high tide. The width of the channel beneath the new bridge will grow from 80 to 100 feet. For the first year of operation, the new bridge is required by the U.S. Coast Guard to open on demand. Currently, the drawbridge has scheduled openings every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. -- if there's a boat. After a year of gathering data, the city can petition the Coast Guard to consider allowing the scheduled openings again. But with the new height, city officials think the new bridge will require two-thirds fewer openings each day -- 11 instead of 33. To help drivers navigate the construction, E.C. Driver plans to post message signs along Central Avenue. The consultants and Johnson Brothers officials are looking for rental space in Treasure Island to establish a field office during the project. They also will operate from a trailer at the park near the community center along 104th Avenue. Some of the equipment for the construction will be placed at the staging area at the city park. The majority of the equipment will remain near the bridges on two material barges and two crane barges. The rubble from the old approach bridges will go to various offshore reefs near Pinellas County. To find out more Updates about the construction will be posted on the project Web site at www.ti-causeway.com, or call Treasure Island public works director Don Hambidge at 547-4575.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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