After a six-month trial period of predictable openings every 30 minutes, Mathers Bridge has reverted to a schedule of on-demand openings, pending a Coast Guard study of the trial period.
All that’s known for sure is that the experiment, which ended last Saturday, got mixed results.
Supporters of the change, prompted by residents living on Merritt Island, say the scheduled openings help motorists in that they can plan their trips around the opening of the bridge.
Opponents, who comprised a majority of the official comments on the issue, said the scheduled openings cause more car traffic and safety issues by boaters stacking up at the bridge or racing through a No Wake zone to making it to an opening. While the official policy during the trial period was for the bridge to open for emergencies, there were numerous reports of boats waiting in peril during thunder storms.
If the Coast Guard chooses to move forward with a new regulation, it will involve a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM) and Temporary Final Rule (TFR), followed by another public comment period.
If they decide against the change, the idea, if supported by the public, could live again and the process could start at square one, said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Bryan Reed, stationed in Jacksonville.
“It is difficult to provide an accurate estimate as to if and when a new rule would go into effect. There are several phases involved in the process. It could take several months to go through these steps,’’ he said.
Either way, it’s on-demand openings until an official determination is made.
Mathers Bridge, spanning the Banana River at Indian Harbour Beach, is a swing bridge with a vertical clearance of 7 feet at mean high water in the closed position, and a horizontal clearance of 74 feet and 81 feet.
The effort for a change began Jan. 12, 2017, when the Brevard County Public Works Department, the bridge owner, requested the Coast Guard consider the change in order to reduce traffic delays caused by the numerous on-demand openings of the bridge.
