{"id":272047,"date":"2026-05-15T09:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T09:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/272047\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T09:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T09:47:10","slug":"new-fort-pierce-north-causeway-bridge-opens-to-traffic-friday-morning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/272047\/","title":{"rendered":"New Fort Pierce North Causeway Bridge opens to traffic Friday morning"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The new North Causeway Bridge connecting Fort Pierce to North Hutchinson Island is expected to officially open to traffic at 8 a.m. Friday, marking a major milestone for drivers, boaters, and beachgoers along the Treasure Coast.<\/p>\n

The new fixed-span bridge replaces the aging drawbridge along State Road A1A over the Intracoastal Waterway. The bridge features one lane in each direction and an 85-foot clearance designed to allow most boats to pass underneath without stopping vehicle traffic.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New Fort Pierce North Causeway Bridge opens to traffic Friday morning<\/p>\n

The Florida Department of Transportation says the project is aimed at improving safety and reducing delays for both drivers and boaters. The bridge also includes protected sidewalks, bike lanes and a shared-use path.<\/p>\n

However, not everything will open on Friday.<\/p>\n

FDOT says construction will continue throughout the project area even after traffic shifts onto the new bridge. Some pedestrian features \u2014 including the observation deck \u2014 will remain closed for now as crews continue work. Foot traffic will also be detoured to the south sidewalk during ongoing construction activities.<\/p>\n

The opening comes after years of construction and is expected to significantly change traffic flow between the mainland and North Hutchinson Island, especially during busy beach weekends and bridge openings that previously caused backups.<\/p>\n

\"bridge.png\"<\/p>\n

The old drawbridge is also expected to eventually be demolished, a move that has drawn mixed reactions from longtime Fort Pierce residents. Some say the new bridge will improve travel times, while others say the old bridge holds decades of memories for local fishing families.<\/p>\n

CBS12 News will continue live coverage throughout the morning, including a live interview with an FDOT manager discussing what drivers should expect next and what portions of the project are still under construction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The new North Causeway Bridge connecting Fort Pierce to North Hutchinson Island…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-272047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}