St. Augustine Record
Sunday, January 28, 2001

State: Temporary bridge won't curb business traffic
By Peter Guinta

Some Anastasia Island businesses believe that when a temporary span is built during the Bridge of Lions rehabilitation, tourists may not want to navigate through construction areas and the island could loose customers. But a state consultant says traffic flow will remain the same.

The issue arose at last months gathering of the St. Augustine Attractions Association, whose 40-plus members become concerned when they sense a development or legislation that could hurt the attraction industry. The association's president Kathy Flemming of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, said some of her members believe the bridge reconstruction will hurt them. "We're concerned about creating a situation where transportation cannot get back and forth," she said.

Also concerned about traffic flow is Bill Pucket of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm on Anastasia Boulevard.

He said, "Whatever the temporary bridge looks like, it should impede the traffic flow as little as possible. Where it touches the shore, it should be a clean route to the east side." He said that a too-low temporary span forces all boats to wait, not just the big ones. And that means more boats must pass through, taking longer and backing up more traffic. "A lot of our people depend on people driving by and seeing us here, or easy access from downtown," he said."We hope that AAA's Tour Book doesn't advise people to drive around St. Augustine and miss the construction areas. That would be devastating." When the bridge closed for three months in 1978 the Alligator Farm's business dropped by 80 - 90% he said.

Tourism brings 3.2 million people to St. Augustine every year.

Fleming said what many of them come for, to see historical buildings and places, brings a lot more money into the economy than almost any other industry. "We want to make sure that, if we put a bridge in the middle of a tourist area downtown, that the tourists can get around," she said, "selling the bridge renovation as an attraction itself as a "real tough think to do." But not according to Fred Halback of Herbert Halback Inc., a St. Augustine planning, design and management company. He said the temporary bridge won't be like one of those pontoon bridges seen in war movies. "It'll be a real bridge, though built for temporary use, and not equipped with a lot of bells and whistles. Design speed will be 25-30 mph, and it will allow boat traffic through and have a pedestrian crossing," he said. Halback's firm was hired by the state Department of Transportation to provide information to the community during the Bridge of Lions restoration, the only local consultant working on the project. "We want to reassure everyone that this project has just started. No official decision has been made and there will be ample opportunity for public comment," he said. There will be open house presentations planned, with design mock-ups and state engineers on hand to answer questions, he said.

The Temporary bridge should be erected by 2002. Specifications, inspections, tests and surveys for that structure are already underway. Rehabilitation of the Bridge of Lions should be completed two years after that. "A fair portion of the bridge will actually be taken down, rehabilitated and put back up," Halback said.

The temporary bridge will be sited on the north side of the current bridge, with a curve or two that drivers will have to negotiate in the approaches to and from the temporary bridge. But Halback said delays will be short and that the rehabilitation is a major opportunity for tourism related promotion.

"Tourism figures didn't drop in Washington D.C. while the Washington Monument was being refurbished. People went to see the interpretive exhibits. Maybe they can do the same here. If this is done correctly, this opportunity can say 'Come See St. Augustine and see the rehabilitation of a great monument. Don't stay away.' There will be a fully functional (temporary) bridge and approaches. It's not our goal to kill the patient while it's on the operating table."