Efforts to repair the old Seven Mile Bridge

This appeared in today's Miami Herald. It's good to see people making an effort to preserve our history.

Posted on Fri, Sep. 23, 2011
Old Seven Mile Bridge in Keys gets a booster group

By Ryan McCarthy
rmccarthy@keynoter.com

Pigeon Key, a tiny island near the middle of the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys.
As the old Seven Mile Bridge "continues to deteriorate structurally," a new group has stepped forward to lead the effort to save the historic Middle Keys landmark.
Friends of Old Seven Inc. is angling to be the lead organization in a public-private partnership to restore the span and keep it open to the public. It’s already closed to auto traffic and fishing.

"They have an impressive group that knows how to chase money for these types of things. We’d be the partner and get the city of Marathon to partner up and show support," County Administrator Roman Gastesi said.

The nonprofit will try to chase an awful lot of money, with the state Department of Transportation estimating costs to repair the bridge, built as part of the Florida East Coast Railway some 100 years ago, at between $16 million and $22 million.

The lower end price tag includes the installation of new floor beams, steel reinforcement of the main girders, steel painting and the installation of a temporary pedestrian barrier to prevent access to the bridge railing, according to DOT spokesman Brian Rick.

Rick said a May inspection and subsequent engineering analysis of the 2.2-mile span leading to Pigeon Key shows its condition is worsening. But he declined to provide the report, citing a pair of Florida statutes dealing with public records and security issues.

The statute says records of any kind "relating directly to the physical security of the facility" or "threat assessments conducted by any agency or any private entity" are exempt from public view.

Rick did say "the department will continue to schedule inspection as needed to ensure the safety of the public. The next inspection is scheduled for November 2011. As with any inspection, if it is deemed necessary, the structure will be closed to the public," Rick said.

Marathon resident Bernard Spinrad is president of the newly formed Friends of Old Seven group. He said while preliminary, the "eventual goal would be a Middle Keys Mallory Square," referring to the waterfront Key West site that’s home each night to a sunset celebration with street performers and vendors.

"We want to enhance it and integrate it with other nearby facilities, creating a destination type of attraction. Our eventual goal is to make it an eco-friendly tourist destination," he said.

Spinrad said he met with District 6 DOT officials on Sept. 13 and was "given the figure of $18 million to rehab it to a minimum standard of safety."

"DOT is no longer interested in maintaining this facility. Their task in life is transportation and this doesn’t transport to anything. It’s going to be a long process. Everyone we talk to is interested in being supportive. But to do something, we have to come up with a lot of money," he said.

For more Keys news from our McClatchy partners, go to KeysNet.com

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