For some time now, the idea of a bicycle/pedestrian bridge which would span over US Hwy 19 at Marine Parkway has been discussed.  In 2016, a Pedestrian Bridge Feasibility Study was conducted and the conclusion of the study was that a prefabricated steel truss bridge was recommended with a probable cost of $3 Million.  This cost estimate included construction, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation and construction of a 10' sidewalk.  The location studied was the north side of the intersection of US Hwy 19 and Marine Parkway. 

Incidentally, the project described above is currently ranked number 9 on the “Pasco County MPO Transportation Improvement Program 2020 List of Priority Projects.” 

At a work session on January 19, 2021, the City Council expressed some continued interest in the bridge project.  At that time, the staff recommended the location of the bridge to the south of the intersection of Marine Parkway and US Highway 19 as this would allow for connecting the trail segment to the south on US Highway 19 and on Marine Parkway without crossing Marine Parkway.

In seeking data for a grant application related to this project, staff compared the project to the Harn Overpass in Clearwater, which is a similar project crossing US Highway 19.  The lowest bid came in at $7.9M which led staff to believe that the City’s project will likely cost in excess of that  The only way though to determine the actual cost though is to conduct a feasibility study at which time we can gauge the potential cost of the project.

In that regard, on June 7, 2021, the city staff issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to conduct a new Feasibility Study.  The preliminary focus of this RFQ is to select a firm to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over US Hwy 19 adjacent to the intersection with Marine Parkway.

The City/CRA sought qualified firms to conduct the study to determine the feasibility of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over US Hwy 19 adjacent to the intersection with Marine Parkway.

The resulting study will include: 

•       Inventory and evaluation of adjacent bicycle and pedestrian trails, multiuse trails, bicycle lanes and sidewalks.

•       Review of ROW, utility covenants, or other easements

•       Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Network connections

•       Economic Impact Analysis

•       Implementation Strategy with approximate costs

o   Estimated design cost

o   Estimated ROW needed and estimated cost

o   Estimated construction costs

•       Analysis of probably funding sources and funding ratio (% local funds, % state funds, etc.)

•       Draft and Final Feasibility Study

•       Presentations to City Council/CRA Board.

Two firms responded to the RFQ and both of these firms made presentations to city staff.  Both respondents were determined to be very capable firms.  The results of the scoring of the firms is as follows:

#1 - S&ME, Inc.

#2 – Ayres Associates

Staff recommends authorizing the Executive Director to negotiate a fee for the Feasibility Study. The Executive Director will bring the cost for the Study back to the Board for consideration.