Prompted by complaints lodged by Merritt Island residents, the increasingly busy Mathers Bridge drawbridge will soon start opening and closing on the hour and half hour rather than on demand from boaters on the Banana River north of Dragon Point.
The exact schedule would be on the half hour and hour between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, with the same 30-minute intervals 24 hours a day on Fridays and Saturdays.
District 4 Brevard County Commissioner Curt Smith said he is getting frustrated at the pace of the change which he initiated in June 2016. He first consulted with county public works officials because maintenance and staffing of the bridge is county responsibility.
Public comments on both sides of the proposed change were taken by the Coast Guard online until June 23, but Smith said he had earlier this year been assured by Coast Guard officials that the change was expected go through.
“It’s been approved, it just hasn’t been finalized. Unfortunately, the Coast Guard has their own timetable and their timetable doesn’t make any sense. We’re still waiting for the paperwork to be issued to say we can do it,’’ Smith said.
The inconsistent bridge openings for vessels passing through the “swing bridge” have been increasingly causing vehicle traffic backups on the roads in and around the bridge, said longtime Dragon Point resident Vince Lamb, who filed a comment in support of the change with the Coast Guard and rallied neighbors to do the same.
“When we moved here in 1974 we made a resolution that we were not going to let the drawbridge bother us and we would plan extra time. Most of the time it worked out that way,” Lamb said.
“In the past few years it’s hard to come out on a time it’s not open and it seems to be getting worse. Sometimes it opens and you can’t see a boat for several minutes,’’ Lamb said.
The county studied traffic patterns and reviewed bridge logs. Studies showed the change would alleviate vehicle traffic without adversely affecting vessel traffic.
Additionally, vessels that can transit under the bridge without an opening may now do so. The bridge as a vertical clearance of 7 feet at mean high water in the closed position and a horizontal clearance of 74 feet and 81 feet.
Smith said the staff has been trained to follow traditional rules for the openings but added, “I get people telling me that they don’t have proper etiquette. It seems like they just open and close the bridge at will.”
The scheduled openings will be an improvement, Smith said, because “people will approach the bridge knowing that it’s going to open every half hour.”
Comments opposing the change noted that many larger boats to the north in the Grand Canal area will now be delayed access to the Indian River.
The one exception to the new rules is the bridge will open on signal if at least two-hour notice is given by the boater.
Smith said the change should decrease the total openings and thereby save the county maintenance costs. “The more times you open and close it, the sooner (large and expensive brass bearings) are going to wear out. This is going to save taxpayers’ money as well,’’ he said.
Coast Guard officials did not have a date for the change to go into effect.
