PRESS RELEASE
Release Date: May 15, 2003

Lee County Department of Transportation
1500 Monroe Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901

  CONTACT:  Amy Davies, Lee County Department of Transportation
                       239-479-8589

Lee County Department of Transportation Will Make Recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners to Begin Reevaluation to Replace the Drawbridge to Sanibel

Fort Myers, FL – The Lee County Department of Transportation announced today that they will make a recommendation to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners to replace Structure A (which includes the drawbridge) to Sanibel due to the structural condition of the bridge.  The County’s consultants have finalized a five-month evaluation that concluded the structure is deteriorating at a rate similar to what was discovered on Structure B in January of this year.  Until the replacement of the span on Structure B, bridge inspectors had not been able to see the serious condition of the interior metal components of that structure.  Once inspectors were given the opportunity to evaluate and test the condition of the span removed from Structure B, a recommendation was made to do further evaluations on the drawbridge structure. 

  It is the opinion of the structural engineers that Structure A is deteriorating at an accelerated rate evident from numerous new cracks that have developed in the repaired areas of the beams.  Seven spans in Structure A are exhibiting signs of advanced deterioration similar to Structure B.  In addition, the beams cannot be replaced while maintaining the current traffic flow.  The consultants have concluded that Structure A needs to be replaced and Lee DOT will be making that recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners in the next several weeks. 

  The Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study guidelines provides a reevaluation process that will allow the County to expedite the selection of a replacement structure by updating the technical information for the three build alternatives that were previously evaluated in the PD&E Study.  The three previously evaluated build alternatives include a low-level bascule, a mid-level bascule and a fixed span bridge. The reevaluation is anticipated to take four to five months to complete.

The reevaluation for the replacement of the drawbridge will include a public involvement program that provides for public input on the three alternatives.  The County will hold a public information workshop, a public hearing and presentations to community organizations.

The County has received US Coast Guard approval for a design/build process for the immediate replacement of Structures B and C and it is anticipated that construction will begin later this year. To assure continued safety during the years the new bridges are being built, the County will continue to 1) conduct monthly inspections of all three bridges and 2) make repairs, install bracing and provide maintenance work as needed to ensure the structural integrity and safety of the bridges.