The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) plans to build a bridge to replace the Wilson Pigott Bridge and modify the surrounding highways. Estimated to cost $207.2 million, construction is expected to begin in 2028.
The existing drawbridge recently reopened after receiving repairs. Despite the repairs and maintenance to keep it operational, the 60-year-old bridge has lived past is expected lifespan and has been rendered structurally obsolete. Once the replacement bridge is finished, the department will demolish the Wilson Pigott Bridge.
Plans for the 55-foot-tall bridge will include installing a high-level fixed bridge with three travel lanes in each direction, two 12-foot shared paths and 8-foot shoulders. FDOT will install raised barriers and railings between the shared use paths and travel lanes.
In addition to replacing the bridge, the project vision calls for expanding nearby connecting State Roads and intersections to accommodate the new configuration. This will include widening a 0.7 mile stretch of SR 31 and shifting parts of it 300 feet east.
Improvements will include widening the two-lane roadway to six lanes, featuring three 11-foot lanes going in each direction. FDOT will also install a 22-foot raise median with a curb along the inside and outside lanes, a 12-foot-wide shared-use path on either side and a 9-foot-wide utility strip.
FDOT will also improve the SR 31/SR 80 intersection. Plans include reconfiguring it into a grade-separated intersection, providing two new bridges and a traffic signal at a crossover location.
Photo by Sanibel sun, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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