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Winterberry Bridge en route to replacement
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Construction on the east Winterberry Bridge kicked off this week, and Islanders can expect to work their way around the area while the city replaces the defunct structure.
The bridge will not be complete until May or June of 2008, and will be closed to motorists and pedestrians during the construction. Crews have a deadline of June 15, 2008, to wrap up the work and open the bridge to traffic.
Public Works Senior Project Manager Tim Pinter said Coast Guard permits require that the waterway remain largely open while the new bridge goes into place. Interruptions in boat traffic are expected to last less than a day at a time, and will not take place during weekends or holidays.
Waterway closures will take place when construction crews drive new pilings for bridge supports.
The bridge was deemed “functionally obsolete” by the Florida Department of Transportation in an Aug. 17 report, and ranked low on the “health index.”
In a Sept. 1 Naples Daily News story, DOT representative Debbie Tower said the low health index “may mean it’s more economical to replace the bridge than repair it.
That is just what the city is doing with the east Winterberry span, installing a structure with two auto travel lanes, two 4-foot shoulders and two 8-foot shared-use sidewalks.
Construction will also involve repairing the adjacent seawalls, completing water and utility improvements and necessary lighting and landscaping.
Signs in the channel will give boaters construction updates, and crews will mark new pilings to increase visibility among people navigating the channel.
Detour signs already in place on the roadway direct drivers along detour routes.
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beautiful bill...we should give you yuour BONUS...and send you back to myrtle.
#1 Posted by van on September 21, 2007 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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