"Out of the 180 bridges that we have, this is probably one of the most that keeps me up at night, because if something were to happen, we could potentially isolate people on the island." Sarasota County Transportation Director Spencer Anderson said that at the June 11 community meeting in Osprey, as YourSun reported.
The single-lane swing bridge on Blackburn Point Road dates to 1925 and 1926 and carries everyone headed to North Casey Key. It is listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Sarasota County Local Register. In an October 13 statement to The Sarasota News Leader, the County said no decision has been made. It is still weighing a "no-build" option that keeps and repairs the existing bridge, along with replacement by a new swing span or a bascule span. The topic is tentatively set for a County Commission discussion in December 2026.
The public debate is usually framed as a cheap historic repair against an expensive modern replacement. On the County's cost sheet, even the option that keeps the bridge ends with building a new one, so its figures differ mainly on when that happens.
The $31 Million That Includes a Replacement
The display boards from the County's third public meeting in June compare the no-build option with six replacement configurations. The no-build total is $31 million. A footnote on the same board says that figure is the present value of repairing the bridge followed by future replacement. The consultant's presentation charts repair and operating costs year by year through 2045, then adds a new bridge.
| Keep and repair, County | New bridge, County range | Rehabilitate, preservation review | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated cost | $31M present value | $37M to $57M | About $17M through 2043 |
| What the figure covers | Repairs, then a later replacement | Six configurations of swing or bascule span | $6M in 2028 plus about $11M afterward |
| Expected service life | 10 years or less | 75 years | Through at least 2043 |
| Channel clearance | 9.3 ft vertical, 51 ft horizontal | 14 ft vertical, 90 ft horizontal | Unchanged |
| Overall bridge width | 28 ft | 33 ft 8 in to 44 ft 8 in | Unchanged |
Jim Phillips of Hardesty & Hanover, the firm running the County's $2 million study, gave the June audience a used-car comparison. According to YourSun, he said the first repair project would cost $6.2 million, could close the bridge for up to three months, and would add about five years of life. He also said the bridge "was designed probably for a 50-year service life, and it's been going on for 100 years."
Set against the County's own no-build figure, the lowest replacement configuration costs about $6 million more and comes with a 75-year service life instead of ten years or less.
A Repair Log Measured in Pinion Shafts
The County's case rests on a maintenance record that has grown more frequent as the bridge has aged. The June boards list decades of work:
- 1981, major repairs after a barge strike
- 1987 and 1995, further major repairs
- 1997, the original manually operated end toggles replaced with electrically operated ones
- 2009, a new pivot bearing, tracks, rack, pinion and shaft, and drive train
- 2019 and 2020, gusset plate retrofits, fender repairs after a boat impact, and a machinery crack retrofit
- 2024 and 2025, emergency pinion shaft replacements in back-to-back years
By the County's count, the pinion shaft has been replaced three times in four years. On the same boards, the bridge is rated Condition State 3, "Serious." Phillips attributes most of the wear to the bridge's height and design. It sits about 9 feet above salt water, the corrosion that causes has limited openings to every 20 minutes, and the swing machinery sits in the splash zone.
That 20-minute rhythm sets the daily schedule at the crossing. Since August 12, 2024, the bridge has opened on the hour, at 20 past and at 40 past from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays other than holidays.
What $17 Million Buys, According to the Preservation Case
The Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, which put the bridge on its 2025 "Six to Save" list, hired Michigan-based Bach Ornamental & Structural Steel to review the County's materials. WENG reported that the review rates the bridge in fair condition and calls its corrosion normal and repairable for an aging truss. The firm's August 9 letter puts rehabilitation at $6 million in 2028 plus about $11 million through at least 2043. Firm president Nels Raynor called rehabilitation "the fiscally conservative option, by a wide margin," as quoted by The Sarasota News Leader. According to the Alliance's release, the review was a desk review, and Bach has an on-site inspection planned.
Set next to the County sheet, the $17 million figure answers a different question. It covers keeping the existing bridge working through 2043. The County's $31 million covers keeping it working and then paying for its successor. Both figures assume the current bridge stays in place for years. They differ on how long it can last and what it costs in the meantime.
The Coast Guard Decides How Wide the Channel Must Be
Rebuilding the same bridge is not one of the options. The County's project FAQ says the U.S. Coast Guard will not approve an in-kind replacement that keeps the 51-foot channel. Phillips told the June audience that raising the existing span would require new supports in the waterway, which would split the channel again. Rehabilitation keeps today's 16-foot single travel lane and today's channel. The FAQ also says the swing machinery and foundations cannot carry the added weight of sidewalks.
A replacement would change the crossing in ways a driver would notice. Every new configuration on the June boards has a 14-foot vertical clearance, about 48 percent fewer openings by the County's estimate, and a 90-foot channel. According to the FAQ, a bascule span takes about 70 seconds to operate and a swing span about 100. A new bridge would carry bikes, cars and pedestrians at the same time. The wider channel has a cost of its own. The FAQ expects more barges, because vessels on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway would no longer go out into the Gulf to avoid the narrow gap at Blackburn Point. The project area does not include the Dryman Bay Bridge or Blackburn Point Road west of the swing bridge.
Bach's review, as summarized by WENG, cites a County replacement figure of $65 million to $75 million, not counting possible road widening. The six configurations on the June boards run $37 million to $57 million. Those costs cover demolition, construction, design, inspection and contingency, and leave out right-of-way.
What a December Discussion Can and Cannot Settle
Spending is further behind than the debate. The County's Capital Improvement Program lists $3.7 million appropriated to date for the "Blackburn Point Road Movable Bridge," with no new appropriation through fiscal year 2031. The project FAQ says the study and design are funded but construction is not. At the June meeting, as YourSun reported, officials said a new bridge would need significant grants. Anderson traced the project to the voter-approved 2022 surtax referendum.
The FAQ estimates about a year of final design after the public hearing. The June boards list construction at 34 or 40 months, depending on the configuration, with a two-week detour. The FAQ describes shorter interruptions, from overnight closures of 6 to 8 hours up to closures of 3 to 5 days, with no more than about a dozen of the longer ones over the whole build. If the existing bridge fails before then, the County's emergency plan sends traffic south to the Albee Road Bridge.
Public interest is already high. The Alliance's September release said nearly 2,000 residents had written to commissioners or signed petitions to save the bridge. At the September 23 budget hearing, The Sarasota News Leader reported, all but two of the public speakers addressed the bridge. Project documents, meeting boards and updates are posted at blackburnbridgeproject.com.
Separate work is underway a little south of the bridge. The County is repairing North Casey Key Road in the 500 to 800 block. On its project sheet, the road at the north end has been shifted west for permanent reconstruction, and the south end is waiting on final asphalt and water-access stairs. Completion is projected for spring 2027. On the same road, the Casey Key Fish House at 801 Blackburn Point Road has been under new owners since May 2026, as Siesta Sand reported.
If you own on North Casey Key and want to talk through how the bridge discussion bears on your plans, whether you are holding, renovating or getting ready to sell, Kim Ogilvie and our team have followed this crossing for more than four decades and are glad to sit down with you. Let's Connect.
