FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Davies, Lee County Department of Transportation
              (941) 479-8589

STRICTER ENFORCEMENT OF VEHICLE WEIGHTS AND SPEEDS
PLANNED FOR SANIBEL CAUSEWAY

FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 3, 2003) - Lee County and the City of Sanibel are joining forces to provide stricter speed and weight enforcement on the Sanibel Causeway to protect the causeway bridges from being further damaged.

The plan is the result of damage found on the fixed spans (B and C bridges) and the knowledge that a number of vehicles are violating the posted weight limit of 34 tons and speed limit of 35 miles per hour.

In the past, overweight trucks could apply for, and receive, an overweight permit from Lee County DOT to cross the causeway. However, the issuance of overweight permits has been suspended until the current inspection efforts on the bridges are completed and new load limits are determined. The City of Sanibel also operates a weigh station on the center causeway island that has historically been used to enforce truck weight limits only on Sanibel roads.

Representatives of the county's Department of Transportation met Friday with officials from the City of Sanibel, the Sanibel Police and the Sheriff's Office to discuss a plan for stricter weight and speed enforcement on the causeway. The plan includes:

• Effective immediately, weight and speed limits will be enforced by using extra deputies from the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
• A grace period of sorts will allow for overweight trucks at the weigh station scales to be turned around and return to the mainland to lighten their loads (traveling back over the drawbridge). This is at the deputy's discretion.
• At some point, however, strict enforcement will require that overweight trucks at the weigh station be kept on the center causeway island until another truck can come to the station to split the load (no option to return to the mainland).

In addition, Lee DOT is urging motorists to strictly adhere to the speed limits on the bridge. In many cases, speed is more harmful than weight because it intensifies the weight that stresses the bridges.

Emergency repairs were made to the B (center) span last month after cracks were found in supporting beams and a 48-foot portion of the span was replaced on Jan. 20. County-hired inspectors currently are performing an in-depth inspection of the B and C spans, a process that could take another week.

For more information and updates on the causeway repairs and plans, visit lee-county.com or mysanibel.com.