Evidence of the construction progress on the Fort Hamer Bridge was visibly rising from the bed of the Manatee River.
Workers have finished about 25 percent of the two-lane bridge that will connect Fort Hamer Road on the north side of the river to Upper Manatee River Road to the south, according to Trudy Gerena, community outreach for Manatee County Public Works Department.
Without any unforeseen delays, the bridge should be completed in spring 2017, Gerena said.
Along with the construction of the 2,300-foot span that crosses the river, the contractor, Johnson Brothers Corp. of Lithia, also was widening a portion of Fort Hamer Road from Britt Road south to the bridge approach.
The work included widening the roadway from 22 to 24 feet, with a 4-foot-wide bicycle lane, and 4-foot-wide shoulders.
All of the drainage work is finished, and the contractor will be putting the last layer of asphalt on the roadbed in the coming weeks, Gerena said.
She said this would complete that phase of the work.
The highest point of the bridge at about halfway across the span is 26 feet above the river. Because of the low height, the approach ramps will not have a very steep incline.
Construction started in March 2016 after the Manatee County Commission awarded the construction bid the previous February.
The Manatee County Commission had discussed a bridge across the Manatee River at that location for more than two decades.
“I’m very happy about the progress the contractor is making on completing the bridge,” said Manatee County Commissioner Larry Bustle.
“I haven’t been hanging out at the construction site and watching them,” Bustle said, “but I’ve been checking with Ron (Schulhofer, head of the county public works department) and it looks like we will be completed before schedule.”
At the groundbreaking ceremony in early 2015, the commissioner, highlighting the importance of the bridge, said, “When it is complete in 2017, the Fort Hamer Bridge will provide a critical link between Parrish and Lakewood Ranch, two of the fastest growing areas of Manatee County.
“It will obviously shorten commutes, but more importantly the new bridge will improve safety and emergency response times.”
“Everyone has different reasons in seeing the bridge completed,” he said recently in a phone interview. “One Parrish resident who just moved to the area told me it’ll take him only 10 minutes to get to work instead of 30.
“This bridge is exciting for the whole region,” Bustle said. “The bridge and approach road improvements will be a spur to development.”
The commissioner represents District 1, which covers most of the northern area of the county, including where the Fort Hamer Bridge will be located.
According to the project website, www.forthamerbridge.com, the sidewalk along Fort Hamer Road is approximately 90 percent complete, and widening of the road is more than 60 percent complete.
The length of the construction project is approximately 1.4 miles long, including the approaching road reconstruction on the north and south ends of the bridge.
The bridge will be two lanes and will have 18 spans ranging in length from 100 feet to 144 feet.
The work on the Upper Manatee River Road portion of the project will be very extensive.
Besides the widening of the roadbed and relocating roadside ditches, there will be new sidewalks, additional turn lanes and realignment of some utility lines from S.R. 64 to the new bridge.
The cost of the project will be around $32.7 million.