PALM CITY, Fla. — Brightline will begin work on the St. Lucie River County bridge with nightly closings affecting freight traffic beginning Sunday and a subsequent 21-day period in the down position affecting vessels in May.
In February, the U.S. Coast Guard approved the private railroad service's request for temporary modification to drawbridge operations to rehabilitate the 98-year-old railroad bridge that currently is being used for occasional freight service.
The bridge work is part of plans begin passenger-rail service this year between Miami and Orlando International Airport. Brightline hopes to have 32 trains a day crossing the bridge.
Starting at 8 p.m. Sunday there will be closures until 6 a.m. The bridge will remain in the up (open) position from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Normal bridge operations daily will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On May 1 the bridge will be in the down position in an effort to improve the bridge's operating reliability. The bridge returns to full operations at 6 a.m., Monday, May 29.
The project includes replacement of the mechanical components, electrical and control components and machining of the four trunnions in place. Trunnions are axles on which the drawbridge rotates.
Because of construction work and necessary safety precautions, the bridge will be inoperable and remain in the down position, impacting the drawbridge operations and boats requiring an opening to pass.
Once the work is complete, boaters will see several benefits including dependability of bridge openings and closings, reducing the risk of unplanned closures.
The bridge work is part of efforts before starting service to Orlando, including a real-time bridge opening and closure app, countdown clock at the bridge and a bridge monitor.
“The St. Lucie River bridge represents one of the final construction projects along our Orlando extension,” Michael Cegelis, executive vice president of Rail Infrastructure and Development for Brightline. “This work is necessary to assure that the bascule span can open reliably for marine traffic and close for freight and high-speed passenger rail. The new mechanical and electrical systems will greatly reduce the risk of unplanned closures that would impact all three user groups.”
On Feb. 17, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson told U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fort Pierce in a letter that the agency is allowing Brightline to move forward with the 21-day closure.
“It never stops," Mast said. "This is going to be a major disruption to hundreds of boaters who rely on access to the Intracoastal, not to mention have a huge impact for businesses on both sides of the bridge. I find it hard to believe that this was the best that Brightline could do. Instead, it’s just forced our community to pick the lesser of two evils.”
At least 90,808 vessels passed through the bridge channel from June 2014 through September 2015, according to a boat traffic study Taylor Engineering conducted for Martin County.
The nearby Veterans Memorial Bridge is used for vehicles and is not affected by the Brightline work.