New DeSoto bridge is area’s top road need. But it doesn’t have to ‘flyover,’ officials say
Replacement of the DeSoto Bridge, which is nearing the end of its lifespan, remains the top legislative priority for the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.
But in all likelihood, it will be at least a decade before the first shovel of dirt is moved to replace the bridge, which carries U.S. 41 between Bradenton and Palmetto.
Before work can start to build a new bridge, the Bradenton-Palmetto Connector Study will need to be completed, and it won’t be until November that advertising begins for a consultant to tackle the study, Jennifer Marshall, project development manager for the Florida Department of Transportation, told the MPO on Monday.
The MPO, made up of elected officials from Manatee and Sarasota counties, sets regional transportation priorities.
Generating the most heat in past DeSoto Bridge discussions was the possibility that the bridge could be replaced with a flyover, or elevated bridge that critics have charged would destroy inner city neighborhoods.
Marshall sought to defuse some of the controversy Monday by saying that a new bridge built “at grade” would be as efficient for moving traffic as an elevated bridge.
Too much focus has been placed on the concept of an elevated bridge when that choice is only one of several possible options, FDOT officials said.
Marshall presented five corridor options for improving traffic flow between Bradenton and Palmetto.
Only in the Corridor A scenario, covering from U.S 19 north of 33rd Street West in Palmetto to US 41 north of 21st Avenue West in Bradenton would a new DeSoto bridge be included in the plans
Under the other proposals, replacement of the DeSoto Bridge would be handled as a separate project.
The other four preliminary corridors presented Monday are generally east of the current DeSoto Bridge alignment. The most easterly option would start in Palmetto area at U.S. 41 and Erie Road and extend south to U.S. 301 at 38th Avenue East in Bradenton.
FDOT will be presenting the options identified so far to Palmetto and Bradenton city governments and the Manatee County Commission in the near future.
While replacing the DeSoto Bridge is probably more than a decade in the future, the state will also be looking at short-term improvements than can make a big difference in traffic
An example of a short-term improvement is work FDOT completed on the Green Bridge.
The work included widening the walking trail on the bridge, reducing the lanes and medians on Ninth and adding a dedicated southbound right-hand turn lane at Manatee Avenue West.
Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant of Palmetto applauded FDOT for considering “all alternatives” in its study of replacing the DeSoto Bridge.
“A lot of people like that the ‘all’ is in there,” she said.
Other MPO priorities include relieving traffic congestion between the mainland and Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key.. The MPO also is putting an emphasis on funding to replace the aging Cortez, Anna Maria and Coon Key bridges, and that there be a “bus-on-the-shoulder” lane for emergency vehicles and future transit alternatives.
Bradenton Beach Major John Chappie said he hopes that the Longboat Key Bridge can be added to the priority list of bridges to be replaced.
MPO members also heard a safety report on area roads. An estimated 116 people will die on Manatee and Sarasota roads this year, compared to 120 in 2018, 101 in 2017 and 139 in 2016.
An estimated 1,381 people will be seriously injured on local roads this year, compared to 1,428 in 2018.
This story was originally published September 23, 2019 at 3:14 PM.
