Many Tara Golf & Country Club residents are calling on Manatee County to construct a bridge that was planned decades ago.
- Bradenton community says they need bridge over Braden River
- Commissioners say now is not the right time financially
- More plans for Manatee County will be discussed June 16
Locals say a small bridge is needed from their neighborhood, which is off State Road 70 in Bradenton, over the Braden River. The overpass would give residents access to University Parkway.
According to residents, this addition would also keep cars from the more than 4,000-home community off the congested interstate and nearby roadways.
“I personally don’t enjoy having to take my family that route to go south,” said Kent Haas, a Tara resident. “I believe that having a bridge and also having the access to the fire house and ambulance services, which would be connected to the other side, would be a benefit.”
Manatee County's 1989 Long Range Comprehensive Plan called for a future bridge for Tara. But 27 years later, it hasn't happened.
Residents are asking the county to add the project to their five-year capital improvement plan.
So far, more than $3 million from impact fees has been spent on the design of the future bridge, but county commissioners say it isn’t the right time to move forward.
“I cannot look at my constituents that are in this room and tell you the bridge will never be built,” Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said. “What I can tell you is that I agree with the county administrator that we don’t have the funds.”
Baugh said other projects, such as the Fort Hamer Bridge and the 44th Avenue East extension, are bigger priorities at this time. Many residents, including Ray McCrea, agree.
“Will this commission really approve to spend the money to build a bridge we don’t need based on the outdated traffic plan, when the county has so many priorities for the money we don’t have, and not likely to receive?" McCrea said.
The county will be discussing the five-year capital improvement plan June 16.