Palmetto and Bradenton residents expressed their concerns over a $916 million plan to replace the four-lane DeSoto Bridge with a six-lane bridge and an elevated two-lane “flyover” at a Florida Department of Transportation public hearing on July 16.
FDOT studies show that the north-south bridge over the Manatee River, usually congested during rush hour traffic, will need significantly more capacity by 2045, when Manatee County’s 468,000-plus population is expected to increase by another 200,000 people.
The Bradenton-Palmetto Connector proposal would replace the bridge, adding two express lanes and two additional lanes to the existing four lanes, plus pedestrian and bike paths, according to FDOT, which identified its preferred alternative from three choices, narrowed down from 10.
The elevated lanes could be toll lanes, according to the proposal.
Ocean Fitts, a candidate for the Florida House of Representatives District 741 seat, attended the hearing and suggested that making the flyover a toll road could deter people from using it and make it less effective.
If the proposal is approved, 21 homes and one business would be in the path of the project and would have to be relocated. Relocation benefits are available under federal law, according to the proposal.
“What I’m concerned about is the lack of communication and transparency,” said Sharon Jefferson, of Palmetto, a candidate for Manatee County School Board District 2 who attended the public hearing.
“I had to tell a friend of mine her house was going to be impacted,” she said, suggesting that FDOT notify people directly who are going to have to relocate if the plan is approved, and publish maps listing those properties.
Margaret McCarthy, of Bradenton, echoed Jefferson’s concerns.
“I don’t feel this meeting, and the information, was done completely transparent,” she said. “We need more communication about what is going on, when it’s going to happen.”
Matthew Monroe, of Bradenton, said the project will not ultimately ease congestion, because once traffic leaves the wider bridge, the road narrows.
“Maybe the flyover lanes will make traffic slightly faster downtown,” but it will back up further away, he said, as well as encourage homelessness underneath the bridge and create noise concerns.
The plan’s traffic noise study calls for noise barriers for the Nest Apartments, Lone Oak Mobile Home and RV Park, Palmetto Trace Apartments and residents of First Avenue Court West.
Other impacts
The project would encroach on 0.15 acres near the splash pad at Lincoln Park/Coach Eddie Shannon Park, 501 17th St. E., according to the proposal.
The new bridge, which would run alongside the Palmetto Estuary Preserve, also could have “moderate” effects on protected species such as sea turtles, which have stranded near the existing bridge, the proposal says.
The project would affect 1.83 acres of mangrove swamps and 1.1 acres of surface waters; those losses would be offset with credits from a mitigation bank within the watershed.
No funding has been identified for the estimated $45 million in right-of-way costs, $732 million in construction and $65.9 million in engineering and inspection, according to FDOT records. The $73 million design phase is partially funded.
For more information, visit swflroads.com/project/444843-1.
Cindy Lane is a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Beacons. She can be reached at clane@tbnweekly.com.