We have received a few inquiries from the community related to our announcement of the progress on the Matlacha Drawbridge, which is having mechanical openings this week for the first time since Hurricane Ian.
Overall:
The inspection team Lee DOT has on the Matlacha Drawbridge repairs is the same inspection team FDOT has for the Little Pine Island Bridge. They will be coordinating to ensure that we are not creating undue burden on the traffic flow through Matlacha. The Little Pine Island Bridge is in its final stages. The county must get the drawbridge back to full operation by order of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The team working on this bridge is cognizant of community traffic concerns and history.
- Will the openings four times daily occur at the same four times each day?
No. The crews remain flexible with the timing so they can adjust openings according to traffic flow. Most openings will occur in non-peak times.
- How long will the test openings take from start to finish?
The openings are expected to be less than 10 minutes. Crews are still adjusting and calibrating, so longer durations may occur. That said, the contractor will reinforce with its crews that avoiding extended delays for motorists is crucial.
- Is it possible that the bridge will open more than four times daily, like if a boat comes?
That is not anticipated. The test opening phase is meant for test openings only, as crews will continue adjusting and calibrating the bridge components.
Said another way, the bridge will not be opening for boaters until we are beyond the 60-day testing period. That’s not to say that a boat might not go through when we are doing a test opening, but we are not operating the drawbridge for vessels until we have completed this project.
- Why can’t the test openings be done during nighttime hours?
Test openings must be done four times a day, and the contractor does plan to conduct them in off-peak traffic hours as frequently as possible, including dawn and dusk. Daylight is considered a better situation for test openings so crews can visually evaluate the mechanical operations.
- What about the bridge potentially getting stuck open?
Residents need not be concerned about the bridge not being able to close once it is open. Crews can manually lower the bridge if mechanical operations are not functioning as anticipated.
- Why is the county doing this?
The county must get the drawbridge back to full operation by order of the U.S. Coast Guard.
