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The
St.
Augustine
Record Group
wants
Bridge
of
Lions
to
be
replaced
In recent weeks, a group of St. Augustine residents have been lobbying city and state officials, asking them to abandon an already-approved $46.3 million Bridge of Lions restoration plan. They want to scrap the renovation plan and instead build a new, wider bridge using the same architectural style. However, state transportation officials said Friday that, while they'll meet with those people soon, the decision on the bridge has already been made. That's not deterring the new bridge group. Art Runk Sr., a former mayor of St. Augustine, said the state Department of Transportation erred when it approved the restoration option. He is a member of the loosely organized but long-dormant Citizens for a Safe New Bridge. "The DOT is ignoring its own manual, which requires a four-lane bridge be built to meet required standards," Runk's letter to the St. Augustine City Commission said. He says the restoration plan is a waste of money, violates DOT guidelines and leaves the bridge unsafe. "Something about the restoration plan didn't smell right to me," Runk said. "The more I looked into it, the more I realized the city had the authority to decide the level of service it wanted." The restoration plan, called 1A, leaves the bridge with two lanes of traffic, but widens the roadbed and sidewalks slightly, to 41 feet, adding a "crash-tested" barrier between cars and the sidewalk. It also retains the original towers. But the new bridge group wants four traffic lanes -- two driving and two breakdown. That, however, requires a much wider bridge platform -- 59 feet. That means the current roadbed must be replaced and the historic towers moved. Beside the two breakdown lanes, the advantages of a new bridge include a wider channel for barges, the Coast Guard recommended 125 feet instead of the 76-feet channel there now. The extra lane would also provide safety space for pedestrians and cyclists, the group says. However, the Save Our Bridge group is irritated that this issue, once decided, arose again to bring back the ghost of years of community polarization. Theresa Segal, Save Our Bridge spokeswoman, said the restoration plan has almost reached the design phase. "This push should have come when the DOT came out and eliminated the option of four lanes," Segal said. "At this point, it is fiscally irresponsible for anyone to be putting off this process." State officials say that, without new data, they doubt the new bridge group can stop the restoration plan. Aage Schroeder, DOT secretary for District 2, said the process has gone so far along that it's close to being finalized. "I'm not sure we're going to be able to back up," Schroeder said. "We looked at the roadway, structural issues, navigation and historic issues. We'll listen to anybody. But I don't see how a whole lot can be done." The new-bridge group said it would still push on. David Drysdale, owner of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm & Zoological Park on Anastasia Boulevard, said the Save Our Bridge people picture a new Bridge of Lions looking like the modern, arched State Road 312 bridge. "The restoration's going to be 90 to 95 percent new construction anyway," Drysdale said. "They'll take the entire deck off." Runk said his effort began after he researched Florida statutes authorizing the DOT. He said they mandated that the department be responsible for a "safe, viable and balanced transportation system," and must "develop and adopt uniform minimum standards" for bridge design. And they also must "establish and maintain bicycle and pedestrian ways." Runk said the restoration plan violates those requirements. "No one has told the truth about this thing," he said. "That bridge is operating at 194 percent of capacity. A fool can see it's not going to work." His group has talked to each city commissioner individually, and at least three support their views, he said. Bill Henderson, DOT's project manager for the Bridge of Lions, said the City Commission's vote may not carry that much weight. "They've voted three times on this, and each time they've flip-flopped," Henderson said. "Every time there's an election (it can change). This group hasn't presented anything we haven't already looked at. There comes a point when you have to move forward." He said an environmental impact statement will be released within the next two months, and after that is approved by the Federal Highway Administration, the project will go into the design phase. To handle the traffic, a temporary bridge will be built to the north of the current bridge. The decision to rehabilitate the bridge came in 1999, after months of input from both sides. Walt Bugeski, a former St. Augustine mayor and city commissioner, said the Save Our Bridge members were very vocal about their wishes and that may have swayed the DOT to save the bridge instead of replace it. "We were not as vocal," Bugeski said. "They didn't hear us. The DOT felt that (Option 1A) is what the community wanted. We did not do the job." He said Runk's research and letter got their group re-activated. "There's new blood in this thing," Bugeski said. "We're trying to get a unanimous commission to favor a new bridge. If we had that, it will indicate that there's more of a majority of the people (supporting a new bridge)." Drysdale, a St. Augustine native, said he was shocked when Option 1A was announced by the DOT. "We're asking the City Commission: What will it take for you to revisit this decision?" Drysdale said. The group is formulating a resolution and plans to take it before the City Commission for approval after the equally divisive Lightner Parking Garage issue is completed. "This is a decision that is going to affect the community for the next 50 years," Drysdale said. "Once it is done, it is done. But the people who live here haven't even thought about it or seen all the facts." Schroeder said the decision wasn't the DOT's alone to make. "The project is funded," he said. "The problem of moving the traffic obviously extends the time (the project will take). But once the temporary bridge is built, the restoration will go fairly quickly." |