Photo by QUENTIN ROUX // Buy this photo
Marco Island’s ailing east Winterberry Bridge at the intersection of N. Barfield Drive and Winterberry Drive is being torn down and replaced. The new bridge is expected to take at most nine months to complete. Detour signs west of the bridge are in place.
After city councilors decided to replace the East Winterberry bridge in 2005, the project has proceeded through several incarnations, obstacles and timetables.
Contractor Thomas Marine Construction has finally been able to start the project, over a year later than originally planned, after a long-running permitting dispute between the U.S. Coast and the city.
The original decision to replace the bridge was made when councilors realized it had exceeded its projected lifespan, but urgency was added to the project when Hurricane Wilma prompted the Florida Department of Transportation to classify the span as structurally deficient.
Budget? About $5 million
On budget? Yes
Completion date? June 2008, however, Thomas Marine Construction is eligible for a bonus if the contractor can finish the project ahead of schedule
On Schedule? Yes, so far.
What are they doing now? Right now, workers are dredging unsuitable fill material from under the roadway and installing temporary utility lines.
What will they do next? Crews will continue the above tasks for the next few weeks and hopefully demolition of the bridge will begin by the end of the month.
Irish Ayes at Marco St. Pat's parade
Relay for Life: It’s all about hope
Collier All-Star basketball game
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 1
Lolala writes:
Nothing. It's still impassable and the the workers have been unable to figure out why they have been asked to tear it down. One more Rony Joel priority not needed.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.