Katherine Cobb, president of Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne, had some concerns last year when Brevard County contractors started building the Pineda Overpass right outside her campus.
A large number of families on the county’s barrier island take their teenagers to the academy’s 55-acre Upper School on Pineda Boulevard. And those teens who are licensed drive themselves.
And that didn’t seem to bode well, Cobb said last week, recalling her first look at pilings that crews from Orlando’s SEMA Construction had driven into the ground in Pineda Boulevard’s median west of U.S. 1.
But assuming the top of the pilings would be the deck of the overpass, that would make for one steep climb right outside Holy Trinity. And the drop would require motorists – including teachers, staff and even nervous 16-year-olds – to slam on their brakes for a left turn just to make it to class.
Five days a week.
“However, we have been assured that our drivers will have sufficient time to slow down and change lanes,” Cobb said in a statement. “Once construction is complete, we will regain the traffic light at our entrance and will be able to move forward with beautification efforts on the northern end of our campus.”
And county spokesman Don Walker cautioned passing motorists from assuming that the overpass would be as high as the pilings anyway.
“One should not look at the pilings in their current condition and assume the top of the pilings will be the final elevation of the overpass – as they still need to be cut,” he said.
The $24 million overpass, paid for by grants from the Florida Department of Transportation, is part of a larger project widening Pineda Boulevard from two to four lanes.
A few years ago, county officials told Florida East Coast Railway officials they’d need to expand the current crossing by two more lanes.
But the rail officials, who balk at crossings anyway – as an exposure to possible car-train collisions – asked Brevard County to send the four lanes of drivers on a bridge over the tracks instead of widening the crossing.
That will save the FEC from having to maintain a crossing – and pass the costs on to the county, FEC Senior Vice President Bob LeDoux has said.
“It’s a win-win,” he said.
Meanwhile, Walker dispelled concerns about the overpass being particularly steep. The steepest slope, he said, would be a rise of 1 foot for every 20 feet of roadway.
Going up the new overpass, he said, would be like passengers in a 4-door sedan – with 120 inches from its front tires to its rear tires – experiencing a 6-inch rise from the rear to the front.
“As a motorist is approaching the entrance to the school, there will be a 1,000-foot turn lane starting at the top of the overpass leading to a signalized intersection at the new Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy’s entrance,” Walker added.
The project, in fact, is moving the school’s entrance 450 feet west from the current location. So no hairpin turns to get there. “We are optimistic that the (overpass) will be a positive change for Brevard County drivers and will ultimately provide safer entrance and egress to our Upper School,” Cobb said.
And the overpass will increase safety even more for drivers by keeping them clear of Virgin Trains USA’s fleet of trains. That company plans in coming years to send 32 trains a day though the county at up to 110 mph on round trips between Orlando and Miami.
Walker said the overpass is expected to be finished by April 2020, barring unexpected developments.
