If you have visited Bradenton by taking a trip over the Desoto Bridge, you know the feeling.

• Desoto Bridge is aging, officials look for way to manage
• Under flyover plan, drivers would get on elevated lanes
• Residents concerned it would hurt business, property values
  

"In downtown it seems like there's a light at every street once you come off the bridge," said resident Melinda Hughes. "It's irritating."

With the bridge aging, and bumper-to-bumper traffic woes, the Florida Department of Transportation is considering a new flyover bridge concept.

Under the plan, drivers just passing through Bradenton would get on elevated lanes and bypass city traffic. Drivers headed into the city in either direction would stay with ground-level traffic on 1st Street.

But many residents who live in communities just off 1st Street fear that the 'flyover' would do nothing but hurt the community they've worked to build.

"It cuts right through the heart of the minority community," said resident and NAACP president Rodney Jones. "We've worked very hard to get the business district that we do have."

Jones feels that those who are against the new bridge concept are not being heard, and the neighborhood where he lives and works will face a fate similar to what happened in areas surrounding the construction on U.S. Highway 19 in Clearwater.

"They decline property values, they've been known to dry up business districts," he said.

The Florida Department of Transportation said the 'flyover' plan is just one of nine alternatives that are being considered to help alleviate traffic, and that they will have numerous public outreach sessions before any decision is made.

Due to its age, the Desoto Bridge will have to be replaced in the next few years.