Florida 7 Mile Bridge Replacement

[Plutonic Panda]

Might as well create a thread for it since it'll be pretty significant. According to this article work could start as early as 2030 on a full replacement.

A new bridge is part of the Florida Department of Transportation's "5-year tentative work plan"  for the Keys. It's a series of projects, including repairing and rehabilitating the current bridge, scheduled to begin between 2024 and 2028, paid for by $498 million in Florida Department of Transportation funds, said county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article269736591.html#storylink=cpy

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm unclear from the how the article described this.  Are we talking totally new Bridge, a rehabilitation/widening of the 1982 bridge or some combination of the two?

Worth noting, when I lived on Cudjoe Key I ran the 1982 iteration of 7 Mile Bridge a couple times.  I didn't find it lacking for shoulder width but a lot of locals who supported the Overseas Heritage Trail did.

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm unclear from the how the article described this.  Are we talking totally new Bridge, a rehabilitation/widening of the 1982 bridge or some combination of the two?

Worth noting, when I lived on Cudjoe Key I ran the 1982 iteration of 7 Mile Bridge a couple times.  I didn't find it lacking for shoulder width but a lot of locals who supported the Overseas Heritage Trail did.

I read as it a complete replacement but the article does jumble some things up. I wasn't sure what that dollar figure pertaining to a rehabilitation was about.

[skluth]

I'm unclear from the how the article described this.  Are we talking totally new Bridge, a rehabilitation/widening of the 1982 bridge or some combination of the two?

Worth noting, when I lived on Cudjoe Key I ran the 1982 iteration of 7 Mile Bridge a couple times.  I didn't find it lacking for shoulder width but a lot of locals who supported the Overseas Heritage Trail did.

I read as it a complete replacement but the article does jumble some things up. I wasn't sure what that dollar figure pertaining to a rehabilitation was about.

It's pretty clearly a new bridge.

This week, Monroe County leaders said a replacement for the 40-year-old Seven Mile Bridge could be coming by early next decade. A new bridge is part of the Florida Department of Transportation's "5-year tentative work plan"  for the Keys. It's a series of projects, including repairing and rehabilitating the current bridge, scheduled to begin between 2024 and 2028, paid for by $498 million in Florida Department of Transportation funds, said county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.

It's not clear how much money building a new bridge would cost, but it's likely to be in the hundreds of millions by the time it's completed. Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi told Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami earlier this year that replacing the bridge would cost between $500 million and $600 million. The construction cost for the existing bridge was $42 million in the 1980s, according to Keys historian Jerry Wilkinson. What would a new Seven Mile Bridge look like? Those details are not in the plans yet.

It seems there should be a new bridge but the cost cannot be covered in entirety by the current budget. It looks like officials are saying they want a new bridge pretty clearly.

Small bit of movie trivia for the three who don't already know that the Florida bridge scene in True Lies where Ah-nold rescued Jamie Lee Curtis from the limo was filmed on the previous bridge.

[Dirt Roads]

I'm unclear from the how the article described this.  Are we talking totally new Bridge, a rehabilitation/widening of the 1982 bridge or some combination of the two?

Worth noting, when I lived on Cudjoe Key I ran the 1982 iteration of 7 Mile Bridge a couple times.  I didn't find it lacking for shoulder width but a lot of locals who supported the Overseas Heritage Trail did.

I read as it a complete replacement but the article does jumble some things up. I wasn't sure what that dollar figure pertaining to a rehabilitation was about.

It's pretty clearly a new bridge.

Plus, the current Seven Mile Bridge (1982) is slated for full demolition and removal.  But it looks like the original Seven Mile Bridge (1912) will remain intact*.  I wonder if this is due to historical significance, or if there is some issue with ownership.  The original 7-Mile Bridge was constructed by the Overseas Railroad, part of the Flagler Lines (Florida East Coast Railway) and was sold to the FDR Administration as part of the New Deal (under who knows what jurisdiction).  The State of Florida was planning on purchasing the entire railway line after the Hurricane of 1935 that destroyed much of the Overseas Railroad.

* The old Seven Mile Bridge is still substantially intact, except for those sections removed to permit ocean navigation.  Amazing, but it ain't pretty anymore.

[Max Rockatansky]

There is virtually zero chance Monroe County would allow for the removal of any of the Overseas Railroad bridges.  The Bahia Honda Bridge is basically collapsing into the ocean and probably an actual hazard for watercraft navigation.  If Bahia Honda ain't coming down none of the other rail bridges are.

[NJRoadfan]

Now now, we wouldn't want Fred the Tree to lose it's home!

[Road Hog]

The story says the current bridge will be repaired and rehabilitated between 2024 and 2028 at a cost of $498 million. Why would they do that if they were going to replace it?

This appears to be a twinning situation, but the story doesn't make that clear.

[Dirt Roads]

The story says the current bridge will be repaired and rehabilitated between 2024 and 2028 at a cost of $498 million. Why would they do that if they were going to replace it?

This appears to be a twinning situation, but the story doesn't make that clear.

Did something change here?  The original article that I read (the Miami Herald article posted by the OP is paywalled) indicated a new bridge will be constructed and the current highway bridge will be removed.  An earlier article from CBS Miami on October 4, 2022 says the same thing (but is very brief):  https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/new-seven-mile-bridge-in-the-works-for-florida-keys/

I do wonder if the Sanibel Causeway bridge collapse would cause FDOT to change their plans for the Seven Mile Bridge replacement.  Sometimes a parallel span makes sense from a redundancy point-of-view, even if the traffic volume doesn't warrant the additional lanes. 

[Max Rockatansky]

The story says the current bridge will be repaired and rehabilitated between 2024 and 2028 at a cost of $498 million. Why would they do that if they were going to replace it?

This appears to be a twinning situation, but the story doesn't make that clear.

Did something change here?  The original article that I read (the Miami Herald article posted by the OP is paywalled) indicated a new bridge will be constructed and the current highway bridge will be removed.  An earlier article from CBS Miami on October 4, 2022 says the same thing (but is very brief):  https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/new-seven-mile-bridge-in-the-works-for-florida-keys/

I do wonder if the Sanibel Causeway bridge collapse would cause FDOT to change their plans for the Seven Mile Bridge replacement.  Sometimes a parallel span makes sense from a redundancy point-of-view, even if the traffic volume doesn't warrant the additional lanes.

I don't know about that.  There sure was always lots of traffic and difficult passing situations in the Middle-Lower Keys when lived there.  7 Mile wasn't the worst of it but it sure wasn't exactly the safety drive in the world. 

Worth noting, local opinion on expanding US 1 in the Keys is almost universally not in favor.  Very much NUMTOT and NIMBY territory the further down the Keys you go.

[The Ghostbuster]

Where exactly is the 7 Mile Bridge? Can someone post on Google Maps it's location?

[Max Rockatansky]

Where exactly is the 7 Mile Bridge? Can someone post on Google Maps it's location?

Search Pigeon Key, hard to miss from there.

[froggie]

Or just search "7 mile bridge"

[Dirt Roads]

Where exactly is the 7 Mile Bridge? Can someone post on Google Maps it's location?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Seven+Mile+Bridge/@24.6774365,-81.1875774,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x1c3c7c8107b6721d!8m2!3d24.7023719!4d-81.1550476

For the record, I've driven over this bridge four times and the original bridge twice (plus with my parents four more times).  One of the most incredible sights that I've ever witnessed was with my parents in my childhood.  We were heading back from Key West and were approaching one of the original bridges when I looked over the edge of the abutment and saw the shoreline move (I used to be able to remember which island we were on).  My dad drove a few hundred feet onto the bridge, then did a U-turn.  We pulled over to the south side and the entire shore was covered with hermit crabs.  One of my sisters took one home to West Virginia, where amazingly it spent a long life as a faithful, friendly pet that loved to perch on everyone's shoulders while watching television.

[Road Hog]

First time was on the old bridge with my mom driving my grandpa's 1973 Dodger rustbucket pickup. I wasn't the one subject to the white knuckles. But holy shit, that was one narrow bridge for the land yachts of the day.