Residents want controversial ‘flyover’ proposal off table. Here’s why all options remain open

Residents lined up Monday to vehemently oppose a proposed elevated bridge, or flyover, to replace the DeSoto Bridge.

Members of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization listened to the comments, but said they are keeping all options on the table.

Nancy Boos of Palmetto said a flyover would devalue property and split a community with a massive barrier of pilings and steel 700 feet from her front door.

“You have a chance to build something up rather than tear it down,” Boos said.

Ann Buchanan, a Riviera Dunes resident, said a flyover would be the equivalent of running an interstate highway through her neighborhood.

Shay Hawkinberry asked the MPO to remove the flyover concept from the options that it is considering.

“We already know that it destroys businesses, destroys communities, and affects the health and welfare of children and seniors,” Hawkinberry said.

Rodney Jones, president of the Manatee County branch of the NAACP, said that he feels that his community has been dismissed and lied to about the flyover.

“I’m telling you don’t take it lightly or as a bluff. We know that a federal complaint will slow the process down,” Jones said of the prospect of the MPO deciding to endorse a flyover.

The Florida Department of Transportation is conducting a project development and environment study to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.

During the study, FDOT determines the location and conceptual design of feasible build alternatives for roadway improvements and their social, economic and environmental effects.

FDOT project manager Lawrence Massey took note of resistance to the flyover concept.

The project has brought the community together in a big way, Massey said.

FDOT originally intended to bring the results of its study back to the community by year’s end, but has extended its study and is now looking at early 2019, Massey said.

All alternatives remain on the table, Massey said.

Pending completion of that study, there is not enough information for the MPO to make a recommendation, MPO board member Betsy Benac of Manatee County said.

“We have to come up with a road improvement to move traffic north and south. I would love to say we are not going to build any new bridges. We are going to listen to you, but we have to look at all the options,” Benac said.

Patrick Roff, an MPO board member from Bradenton, said that when discussions started about replacing the DeSoto Bridge, there were three options on the table. With more discussion and study, there are now 10.

“I voted on a study, not a thing. I don’t know what the outcome will be,” Roff said.

MPO chair Vanessa Baugh said she and her fellow board members are waiting on FDOT’s project development and environment study.

“We are in a waiting mode, but we have to do something,” she said of the DeSoto Bridge, whose condition has been evaluated as fair, while becoming a drag of smooth-flowing traffic.

“In the past, the board has voted to keep all options open. That’s a smart thing to do,” Baugh said.

The flyover proposal has been controversial in Palmetto and Bradenton since being introduced a year ago.

This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 4:35 PM.