SANIBEL, Fla — Sanibel City Council is moving forward with the design of a new East Periwinkle Bridge aimed at making it safer and stronger.
Fox 4’s Sanibel Community Correspondent, Austin Schargorodski, was in Tuesday’s council meeting where leaders said the bridge has been on their radar since Hurricane Ian washed out the run-up to it.
Watch to hear about the plans for the East Periwinkle Bridge redesign:
The East Periwinkle Bridge sits just east of Causeway Boulevard between Limpit and Tulip Lane. At Tuesday’s meeting, an engineering firm presented a new bridge concept for it.
The plan would raise the bridge by one foot for boat clearance, add stronger seawalls, and widen the shared use path by two feet.
Underneath, the bridge would more than double in width allowing two boats to pass side by side and making it harder for debris to get trapped, which city leaders say is what caused the washout during Hurricane Ian.
City leaders said they were also eyeing a possible three foot lift for the bridge. But some neighbors said that would create safety concerns at the Periwinkle and Limpet intersection which is already marked as a blind intersection.
“I am adamantly opposed to any change,” said Daniel Keller. James Flaherty added, “Any alteration to the bridge is going to increase the risk profile of that intersection.”
“We feel that the crossing is not safe due to east bound vehicles unable to see over the bridge and unable to stop in time,” said Tim Hoss.
Several neighbors asked city council to delay the vote by 90 days to reconsider the design. But after hearing the concerns, council decided the engineering plan was sufficient and backed away from a possible three foot lift.
Instead, council unanimously voted to move forward with the design with a one foot height increase and the other safety and resilience upgrades.
The bridge will cost $8.75 million and city leaders say they will look at state grant money to pay for it.
