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The
St.
Augustine
Record Residents
Dispute
Bridge
Findings
T.J. Tremmel’s fishing trips under the State Road 206 bridge in 1998 caught him a lot more than just trout, drum, or bluefish. Those fishing trips prompted Tremmel to conduct a six-week research project and write a 70-page report about the Bridge of Lions. Tremmel’s report is in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which is information about the Bridge of Lions collected over an eight-year period by various governmental agencies. The impact statement was written and released by the Department of Transportation earlier this year. While fishing, Tremmel said, he noticed few barges traveling the Intracoastal Waterway, which conflicted with information in the impact statement that indicated an increase in barge traffic. “It just didn’t jive is all, ” he said. So, Tremmel decided to verify facts included in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, subsequently challenging much of the information presented to the DOT by the U.S. Coast Guard. Tremmel concentrated on barge and tanker traffic, cargo, and navigation. Tremmel said the impact statement gave residents the impression that the bridge is unsafe and unable to handle the increased commercial traffic. “Commercial traffic on this segment of the Intracoastal Waterway from Jacksonville to Miami, is currently in a trend of decline unrecognized by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Inland Navigational District,” wrote Tremmel. He objected specifically to the Coast Guard’'s use of traffic statistics using the entire 350-mile length of the Intracoastal from Miami to Jacksonville. A very small percentage of that traffic actually traversed the length of the waterway - through the Bridge of Lions. “Available records indicate the total amount of cargo tonnage that passed through the Bridge of Lions is less than 5 percent of the total cargo tonnage that passed through the Intracoastal Waterway...,” Tremmel said. The impact statement stated that “available records indicate there has been a 400 percent increase in cargo tonnage in the last eight years.” Tremmel counters that current figures were not used, and that in fact, there has been a 13 percent decrease from 1990 to 1997. Tremmel said if the bridge is replaced and horizontally widened, as one of the options stated in the impact statement, more barge traffic would be encouraged. “The selective, misrepresented, inaccurate, and misleading information, in relation to the data in the source documents of record, has deluded, manipulated, and polarized the St. Augustine community, ” Tremmel wrote in his report. Also, all of the new bridge options, said Tremmel, amount to a two-lane drawbridge. “None of them will improve the traffic that dumps into the downtown historic district,” he said. After his research, Tremmel said, he now believes the bridge should be saved and restored. Tremmel has since been recruited to be a Save Our Bridge member. “A debate continues today in the community that is not grounded in the reality of what the source data brings forward, ” Tremmel said. Tremmel said that residents shouldn't forget that the Bridge of Lions is part of the Federal Highway System and is a National Historic Landmark. According to the National Historic Preservation Act, Tremmel said, restoration or rehabilitation is required unless there are no other reasonable alternatives. Joe Stephenson, DOT regional planning administrator, said the purpose of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is to generate input and present an objective picture. “This (Tremmel’s report) is just one more comment,” said Stephenson. Stephenson said that Tremmel’s report didn’t alter the process, and an upcoming public hearing will be held June 7 and the St. Johns County Auditorium. Eddy Mussallem, who believes a new bridge should be built, said he trusted the expertise of the engineers who wrote the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Mussallem said he hasn’t seen Tremmel’s report. Bill Henderson, DOT project manger, said he is waiting for the results of an independent study on Tremmel’'s report. Henderson added that the U.S. Coast Guard brought its expertise to the impact statement. “That’s their jurisdiction, ” said Henderson. |