FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Pete Winton, Lee County Administration
               (239) 335-2777

BOARD TO COST OUT BRIDGE DESIGNS FOR CAUSEWAY FIXED SPAN

FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 10, 2004) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting (all votes were unanimous). They are:

Bridge Designs - Requested county staff "cost out" the potential toll impacts of various Sanibel Causeway Bridge "A" (drawbridge replacement) designs. For the comparison, the Board selected the designs that do not have any features above the bridge deck such as arches and cables. The four designs selected for further research are (see attached photos) Bulb Tee (3Bulbtee, $21.5m), Single Center Arch (3 Archu1, $26m), Post Tensioned Box (3 Boxgirder, $27m), and Continuous Arch (3 Archu2, $41m).

The county's Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee recommended the Bulb Tee design with tapered columns as the substructure and open railing above the bridge deck. A subcommittee of the RLAC with wider citizen input met six times since November but didn't reach a recommendation/conclusion.

The Board also asked for any input the Tourist Development Council may have on the design.

A poll in the News-Press lists the favored designs as Post Tensioned Box (19.1%), Single Arch Center (18.7%), Bulb Tee (17.3%), and Canted Tied Arch (16.3%).

County staff will work on costing out the toll impacts of the various options and come back to the Board, probably at either March's Management & Planning Workshop (Mar. 8) or first regular commission meeting in March (Mar. 9; Mar. 2 is cancelled due to National Association of Counties Legislative Conference).