FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Paul Wingard, Department of Transportation
                (941) 694-3334 or 479-8545

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 29, 2001) – Lee County is changing the opening times for the Sanibel Causeway Drawbridge from every ¼-hour to every ½-hour during a three-month test to determine whether the new schedule would help motorist traffic while not detrimentally affecting boater traffic.

The schedule change begins Thursday (Feb. 1) and will last until April 30. This is only a test and normal opening times will resume May 1.

During the test, the openings will be changed from once every ¼-hour, on demand, to once every ½-hour, on demand. On demand means the drawbridge opens on the quarter-hour or the half-hour for five minutes if there are boats waiting. If no boats are waiting, it isn’t opened.

Results from the test will be forwarded to the U.S. Coast Guard to determine which schedule is best.

The reason for the test is motorists often have asked whether the drawbridge could be opened only every half-hour to quicken and smooth traffic flow on and off Sanibel Island. However, if the new schedule requires the bridge to stay open twice as long to allow more boats to pass, it may not make sense to change. The test data should provide the backup information needed to determine which schedule is optimum.