Cortez Bridge presentation to detail fixed-span appearance

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

CORTEZ – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is holding a public information meeting on the Cortez Bridge replacement project on Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 6-8 p.m. in the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church’s Pfrangle Hall at 6101 Cortez Road in Bradenton.

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Road construction continues through February

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said that road construction in city center, the intersection of Marina and Gulf drives, is on schedule to be mostly complete by the end of February. Though work on the traffic lanes will be complete, additional work, such as the installation of lampposts, may temporarily close a lane to traffic.

Documents to be presented are available online for those who cannot attend at the project website: https://www.swflroads.com/project/430204-2.

The in-person meeting will be an open house-style event that allows attendees to review the bridge replacement project materials at their own pace. No formal presentation will be given, but meeting attendees can pose questions to project team members and leave written comments as well.

Comments can also be emailed to FDOT Project Manager Ryan Weeks at Ryan.Weeks@dot.state. fl.us, mailed to Ryan Weeks/Florida Department of Transportation, District One, P.O. Box 1249, Bartow, Florida 33831-1249 or submitted online at the project website.

The project materials pertain to the construction of a fixedspan bridge that will replace the existing drawbridge. The materials presented for public review include a 19-minute presentation video, presentation slides, display boards and a 3D animation.

The video provides details about the bridge construction process and the aesthetic design elements selected by the 11-member Bridge Aesthetics Committee (BAC), which includes local residents, business owners and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie.

The narrated video notes the existing drawbridge that will be replaced was constructed in 1956 with an estimated 50-year service life; and multiple bridge repair and mainte-