Commissioners recommend mid-level option for Longboat Pass Bridge

Longboat Key town commissioners submitted a letter to the Florida Department of Transportation to formally recommend the community’s preference for a mid-level bascule Longboat Pass Bridge replacement. 

A bascule bridge is a type of moveable bridge (i.e. drawbridge) designed to handle heavy loads.

The discussion around Longboat Pass Bridge replacement alternatives heightened in March, after the FDOT’s public community input sessions where the three build alternatives — and a no-build option — were presented.

Since then, community members have come forward in opposition to the third option, a high-level fixed bridge with a clearance of 78 feet from the mean high water line.

Opposed community members include residents of the Northgate condominium complex since a new bridge would be built directly to the west of the existing one, thus creeping closer toward Northgate. The existing Longboat Pass Bridge is 95 feet away from Northgate, and all the original alternatives would be around 36.5 feet away.

In June, FDOT representatives returned to Longboat Key for a Town Commission workshop, where commissioners had the opportunity to ask questions, and the public once again had a chance to voice concerns. 

Additionally, FDOT suggested several suggestions for trimming the width of the bridge to decrease the impact on the Northgate community. 

By the end of FDOT’s presentation, commissioners seemed to be on the same page that the high-level fixed option was unfavorable, and they encouraged the FDOT representatives to look for those width reduction options. 

The commission is now on summer recess, but, before the break, the commissioners gave input for Mayor Ken Schneier’s letter to the FDOT to officially voice their opinions to District 1 Secretary Lakshmikanth Nandam. 

“We all understand that the current structure is beyond its useful life and needs to be replaced. The public meeting facilitated an informative session that allowed the Town Commission to come to a series of recommendations for your office to consider for this critical bridge replacement project for our community,” the letter stated.

Courtesy image

The primary recommendation from the letter was to nix the fixed-span bridge, and Schneier said this option was wrong for several reasons, the first being the size. 

Schneier stated the Longboat Pass Bridge appears to cover a shorter distance than the John Ringling Causeway but will be 13 feet higher. The Longboat Pass Bridge project distance is 0.15 miles — or about 792 feet — according to the FDOT project website. The John Ringling Causeway bridge is 3,097 feet in length and has a 65-foot clearance at high tide. 

“That slope will be a significant challenge to many of our residents and visitors to walk or bike,” Schneier said in the letter. 

Schneier pointed out that the slope of a 78-foot bridge over a shorter span than the John Ringling Causeway would be challenging for many of Longboat’s residents, and possibly cause safety concerns for bicyclists. 

“Finally, a 78-foot-high fixed span would be inconsistent with the character of Longboat Key,” the letter stated. “One of the area’s few remaining residential communities immune to high rises and hotel houses, Longboat has always been connected to its neighbors to the north and south by modest drawbridges over relatively narrow passes.”

With that, Schneier said the commission’s recommendation was the 36-foot mid-level bascule bridge. This, he said, would require minimal bridge openings every day and maximize traffic flow. 

Schneier also encouraged FDOT to move forward with the recommendations to reduce the bridge width by about 10 feet and continue to look for additional ways to cut the width while maintaining safety. 

This also plays into the importance of ensuring how the bridge ties in with Gulf of Mexico Drive and limits the impact on the north-end community. Schneier said that the tie-in spot must be as close to the existing landing as possible. 

Overall, Schneier said the commission is in favor of a build option but wants to ensure the bridge continues to reflect the community's character. 

“A bridge that best reflects the communities it connects while keeping biker, pedestrian and driver safety top of mind are complementary ideas our citizens and this Commission support,” the letter stated. 

Discussion with neighbors

The Longboat Pass Bridge was the only item of new business for the latest Manasota League of Cities meeting on July 11. The league brings together elected officials from local municipalities including the city of Sarasota, the city of North Port, the city of Bradenton Beach, the city of Holmes Beach, the city of Palmetto and the city of Venice. 

Longboat Key Commissioner-At-Large BJ Bishop, also Vice President of the Manasota League of Cities, brought up the bridge to inform the other members about the project and the town’s discussions about the recommendations. 

Although she emphasized the Longboat Pass Bridge construction is at least a decade away, it’s important to have these conversations early. 

“We have weighed in with further discussion here in Longboat because, while this bridge brings Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key together, on the south end of the bridge it literally is less than 60 feet from residential homes,” Bishop said. 

Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce from Bradenton Beach said she heard of the alternatives presented by FDOT and was surprised. 

“I was reading and looking over that report from FDOT and I was just shaking my head the whole time,” Scaccianoce said. “Just ludacris, some of those recommendations, just the length of the bridge doesn’t even support some of that.” 

The Project Development and Environment study for the Longboat Pass Bridge alternatives is expected to wrap up in the winter of 2025, when the department will seek approval of the location and design concept, according to the project website.