Brightline backed off plans to close North Causeway/State Road A-1-A in Fort Pierce for eight days in late April for railroad crossing reconstruction and instead will close the barrier island’s southern access just one day: May 6.
However, Vero Beach barrier island residents can still expect to face four weeks of delays — starting April 18 and ending May 16 — when flaggers will regulate lane closings and vehicle movements.
One lane will be open in each direction most of the time, but both lanes will be closed at times, Brightline said Friday in a news release.
Construction is set to start at 6 a.m. on April 18 and continue through May 16 on the railroad crossing east of Old Dixie Highway and west of Harbortown Drive.
Brightline is spending $2.7 billion to upgrade the Florida East Coast Railroad tracks from West Palm Beach to Cocoa and build new tracks from Cocoa to Orlando in anticipation of starting high-speed passenger train service in 2023.
Brightline plans to operate 32 passenger per day trains through Indian River County at speeds of up to 110 miles per hour as part of a three-hour and 15-minute trip between South Florida and Orlando International Airport.
