November 28, 2007

Costly question looms over Marco Island City Council

Just the other day I wrote about the canals and bridge clearence on Marco Island in Marco Island Boating and Bridge Safety. Little did I know that at the time there was a controversy brewing about two of those bridges on Marco Island.

Marco Island city leaders need to fix two bridges deemed unsafe by the Department of Transportation. But many people are worried because they say a quick fix solution could put lives at risk. Both the Smokehouse Bay Bridge and Caxambas Bridge are in need of major repairs on Marco Island.

  • Caxambas Bridge $2.5 Million to fix or replacement with a cost of $15 Million. Unable to come up with the funding for the major repairs, the City has opted to spend $700,000 on only minor repairs and extending the life of the Caxambas Bridge 2-5 years.
  • Smokehouse Bay Bridge is another $12 Million to replace, which the city has $5 Million dollars earmarked for the project. That is still $7 Million short.

This is just something else that the City of Marco Island cannot afford. There are more than 300 bridges in Collier County. The state lists the Caxambas Bridge as one of the 10 most inadequate. The question now is what to do with it.

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