BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) – The Florida Department of Transportation has announced it would prefer a total replacement for the DeSoto Bridge connecting Bradenton and Palmetto, a $916 million, six-lane bridge with an elevated expressway on top.
Current bridge and proposed changes
The DeSoto Bridge extends U.S. Highway 301 over the Manatee River and has long carried both regional and local traffic between the two cities.
The bridge currently has four lanes, two in each direction. FDOT’s preferred alternative calls for six lanes, three each way, plus shared-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists, and two elevated express lanes in the center.
The elevated lanes would carry drivers up and over parts of downtown Bradenton and Palmetto.
FDOT said the project will address growing traffic demands and improve safety on the crossing.
Why FDOT says express lanes are needed
FDOT’s study found that about 47% of daily traffic simply passes through, never stopping in either city. The elevated express lanes would separate that through-traffic from local drivers.
City officials said a preview of what the design could look like can be seen on the Gandy flyover in Tampa, a similar design they said has proven it can move traffic.
Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown described his experience driving the Gandy flyover.
“On the way up we went underneath. Turned left it was rolling very well at 4:30 in the afternoon and then at night we came home after a Manatee High football game and there was no traffic on it because it was about 10:30 at night,” he said.
“But it just flew, so I didn’t have to stop at the traffic lights underneath,” Brown said.
Brown said the project would also make downtown streets more pedestrian-friendly.
“We don’t want to cut a community in half where you don’t want to go to the other side. This will make it where there will be crosswalks, there will be ways to get over there,” Brown said.
Impact on local businesses
Paul Mattison, owner of Mattison’s Grille near the bridge, said traffic has long been a problem for the area.
“It’s definitely been a concern, it’s been an issue for a long time. There is a lot of traffic that moves through here, I mean it’s U.S. 301, it’s a major artery through Florida,” Mattison said.
Mattison said he first heard about the idea of an elevated roadway years ago.
“I heard the word flyover, of building some type of elevated road that if you’re not stopping, if you’re not local traffic and you are just traveling through, that there is an alternative like an express lane,” Mattison said.
That idea has turned into FDOT’s preferred alternative. Mattison said improved traffic flow on the bridge could benefit his business.
“Once it’s finished, yes, I could see it giving more attention and more access to being able to get to us,” Mattison said.
What happens next
The plans are not final. A “no build” option remains on the table, which would push the improvements back and later phases of the project have not been funded yet.
Public comments now go to FDOT’s Environmental Management Office. If the study is accepted, the DeSoto Bridge project moves into the design phase.
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