closure - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T14:35:06Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/closureBoca Raton: Gumbo Limbo loses rehab license; turmoil surrounds new managementhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-gumbo-limbo-loses-rehab-license-turmoil-surrounds-new-2023-03-29T17:23:19.000Z2023-03-29T17:23:19.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11009465090,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11009465090,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11009465090?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></strong><em>Staff and volunteers at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center had to move nine sea turtles to other facilities because Gumbo Limbo no longer had a license to treat them. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s injured and recuperating sea turtles were moved to other facilities, its veterinarian quit, and the coordinator of its turtle rehabilitation program and her assistant no longer have jobs.<br /> “The rehabilitation facility is CLOSED until further notice,” the city-operated Boca Raton nature center said on its website March 15, later tempering the language to read that the rehab center was in “transition” and “TEMPORARILY CLOSED.”<br /> The unexpected turmoil comes as Boca Raton was preparing to hand off operation of the rehab program to the nonprofit Gumbo Limbo Coastal Stewards, formerly known as the Friends of Gumbo Limbo, which has long paid for the veterinarian and her equipment.<br /> The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach took six of the program’s turtles; Zoo Miami is caring for two and the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart has one. Seven of the turtles are patients; two, named Morgan and Cane, were Gumbo Limbo “residents.”<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11009466452,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11009466452,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11009466452?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></a>The turtles were moved March 14, city spokeswoman Anne Marie Connolly said, following the resignation of veterinarian Dr. Maria Chadam and the firings of the rehab program’s coordinator, Whitney Crowder, and her assistant, Emily Mirowski. <br /> Chadam, who cared for Gumbo Limbo’s turtles for more than a decade, said in a resignation letter that the time was overdue for her to focus on other aspects of her life.<br /> “A culmination of events has quelled my optimism to a point where I cannot continue as a key member of this organization. This decision does not reflect a concern related to any one person or on any specific event,” she wrote in her Feb. 13 letter giving 30 days’ notice.<br /> John Holloway, CEO and president of the Coastal Stewards, answered the next day. “Effective immediately, your services under the contract are no longer <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11009466855,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11009466855,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11009466855?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="102" /></a>required,” he wrote.<br /> “Once she resigned, that put our permit in temporary status,” Connolly said.<br /> The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issues permits for sea turtle research and rehabilitation, with one provision being that a rehab program must have veterinarians on staff.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11009468269,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11009468269,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11009468269?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="102" /></a>Crowder, who was the FWC permit holder for the rehab unit, started working at Gumbo Limbo in 2012 as the assistant coordinator. Mirowski, an eight-year staffer, gained worldwide attention in 2019 with a Facebook post about a baby turtle that died after eating 104 bits of plastic. Both were laid off March 13 and ordered not to return to Gumbo Limbo, but are being kept on the payroll until May 22.<br /> “Unfortunately, as far as the staff members … it didn’t work out the way we intended,” Connolly said, praising their contributions to the program. “We would have hoped they stayed onboard.”<br /> With Crowder, the permit holder, no longer employed, the FWC ordered that the turtles be relocated.<br /> Mirowski and Crowder say they were “blindsided” by their terminations when they showed up for individual conferences with city Human Resources Director Danielle Olson. They thought they were going to be given details of what to them was a vague transition plan.<br /> “I thought HR was there to help you,” Crowder said.<br /> In a Feb. 11 letter to human resources, Crowder accused the Coastal Stewards of having “unstable, toxic leadership.” Holloway, she wrote, “manipulates and lies to staff to play people against each other.”<br /> In an interview with <em>The Coastal Star</em>, Crowder said Holloway also told other Gumbo Limbo staffers that the rehab unit was overpaid and that their jobs could be handled part-time.<br /> The city’s spokeswoman downplayed the situation.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11009468659,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11009468659,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11009468659?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="101" /></a>“Obviously some people aren’t happy about certain things,” Connolly said.<br /> Holloway forwarded an emailed request for his reaction to Crowder’s assertions to Melissa Perlman, his new public relations consultant.<br /> “Unfortunately John has nothing further to say about past HR/personnel issues involving city employees,” Perlman responded.<br /> Dr. Mike Chouster, who was listed on the permit as Chadam’s backup veterinarian, said he “could have easily provided care if they wanted” but the city instead fired Crowder.<br /> “A lot of what happened doesn’t add up,” he said, noting that Crowder’s and Mirowski’s positions were fully funded in the city’s budget and that no one at the city responded to him when he volunteered his services.<br /> “A lot of the problems stemmed from their CEO,” Chouster said.<br /> At this point, he said, he would turn down a job offer “on principle” unless the city and the nonprofit reorganize. “I think nobody’s going to want to” work there. <br /> Manjunath Pendakur, who chairs the Coastal Stewards board of trustees, said they firmly support Holloway. “We are relying on his sound management and excellent working relationships” with the city, the FWC and others, he said.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11009468889,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11009468889,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11009468889?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a><em>Tanks sit empty after the sea turtle patients were moved to other treatment centers. <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Beach monitoring continues</strong><br /> The changes in the “hospital-type” rehab program do not affect the nature center’s sea turtle conservation program, which has a separate FWC permit to monitor nests and release hatchlings, said David Anderson, who coordinates the “beach-related” activities.<br /> “My nesting permit is not affected by the current situation at Gumbo Limbo. My staff and I are operating as normal every morning at sunrise conducting nesting surveys,” he said. <br /> The hatchling drop-off box is still at the center, and Anderson’s team will still respond to phone calls about injured, sick or dead sea turtles, taking them wherever the FWC directs, he said. Gumbo Limbo’s emergency number is 561-212-8691; the FWC is at 888-404-3922.<br /> On March 25 his team rescued a turtle in the Intracoastal Waterway near the Spanish River Boulevard bridge that had been hit by a boat propeller, made it comfortable overnight, and then took it the next morning to the Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, he said.<br /> Some of the relocated turtles might recover and be released back into the ocean before the FWC rehab permit is reauthorized. Perlman said the Coastal Stewards have hired an experienced veterinarian, turtle program manager and turtle specialist who will start work and be officially announced in early April.<br /> In an earlier email to interested parties, Holloway said the center’s two “resident” turtles were on “a long overdue vacation” and urged his membership to donate money to bring them back.<br /> “Of course, we will miss Morgan and Cane while they are away, but everyone is committed to welcoming them home as soon as possible,” Holloway wrote, promising “exciting updates” would appear on the group’s social media and website.</p>
<p><strong>What’s next for fired staff?</strong><br /> Mirowski is getting married in May, but because she lost her job, she and her fiancé will hold off on their plan to start a family, she said.<br /> Crowder was less certain. “I know my future will bring me back to sea turtles, but I am just not sure what that looks like at this time,” she said. <br /> A person identified only as “Concerned Citizen” at <a href="http://www.change.org">www.change.org</a> started an internet petition to “Bring Back the Sea Turtles” on March 22. By March 28 it had more than 3,000 signatures.<br /> One of those signing was Chadam, who wrote:<br /> “The city council should be ashamed. The nature center management should be ashamed. People aren’t thronging to the nature center to look at some butterflies, a broken down tower, lack of parking, and a building full of mold and termites ... and the beloved pufferfish is gone so good luck!”<br /> Kirby, the center’s celebrity porcupine puffer fish, died Feb. 26.<br /> Another signer was Cody Mott, who works for Inwater Research Group Inc. in Jensen Beach, rescuing sea turtles trapped at Florida Power & Light Co.’s nearby nuclear reactor. Mott was invited to join the Coastal Stewards’ Science and Technology Advisory Committee in 2022.<br /> “Mr. Holloway never consulted the committee during the process to transition sea turtle rehabilitation from the City of Boca Raton to Coastal Stewards,” Mott wrote on the petition. When Chadam resigned, “the committee was not consulted. ... In the 12 months I sat on STAC it never met, despite Mr. Holloway being the chair.”<br /> The city started negotiating last fall for the Coastal Stewards to assume responsibility for the rescue, rehabilitation and release program. As part of the arrangement, donations collected at the door, which used to go to the Stewards, will now be used for maintenance and improvements.<br /> The city owns Gumbo Limbo and the surrounding Red Reef Park; tax dollars from the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District cover all salaries, operations and improvements.<br /> The rehab program has grown tremendously over the years, Connolly said.<br /> While the city and the Beach and Park District “want to support the success of the program, both organizations believe the animal rescue and veterinary component of this program can be better served by a nonprofit organization with fundraising capabilities, membership support, and the flexibility that local government agencies don’t have,” she wrote in an email. Years ago, she noted, Boca Raton transitioned all operations of the Tri-County Animal Rescue west of the city to a nonprofit.</p></div>Boca Raton: Train work to close Palmetto Park Road for 5 dayshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-train-work-to-close-palmetto-park-road-for-5-days2022-06-01T15:14:45.000Z2022-06-01T15:14:45.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>As Brightline works to build its Boca Raton station, railroad crossing reconstructions near the station site east of the Downtown Library will cause road closures and detours in June.<br />The Florida East Coast Railway crossing at Palmetto Park Road will be closed for five days, from 8 a.m. on June 11, a Saturday, to 7 p.m. the following Wednesday, June 15.<br />Westbound Palmetto Park Road traffic will be directed north on Dixie Highway to Northwest Second Street, west to Northwest Second Avenue, and south on Northwest Second Avenue to Palmetto Park Road.<br />Eastbound traffic will travel a reverse route.<br />The Northwest Second Street crossing will be closed 13 days, from 8 a.m. on June 18 to 7 p.m. on June 30.<br />Westbound Northwest Second Street traffic will be directed to go south on Dixie to Palmetto, west to Northwest Second Avenue, and north to Northwest Second Street.<br />Eastbound traffic will again do the reverse.<br />The long-anticipated $46 million station is expected to open in December.</p>
<p><em>— Mary Hladky</em></p></div>Delray Beach: Replacement part for George Bush Boulevard Bridge could take six weeks or more to makehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-george-bush-boulevard-bridge-shaft-breaks-in-open-po2022-03-18T21:25:00.000Z2022-03-18T21:25:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="yiv2693604053msonormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;background:#FFFFFF;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#1d2228;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10170005456,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10170005456,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10170005456?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="595" /></a></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="yiv2693604053msonormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;background:#ffffff none repeat scroll 0% 0%;text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><em><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#1d2228;">Drivers who use George Bush Blvd. in Delray Beach can't seem to catch a break. After weeks of construction on the segment between Federal Highway and the Intracoastal Waterway, traffic problems got worse when the bridge got stuck in an up position. Palm Beach County officials don't know when it will reopen. <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></span></em></span></p>
<p class="yiv2693604053msonormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;background:#FFFFFF;"> </p>
<p class="yiv2693604053msonormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;background:#FFFFFF;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#1d2228;">By Larry Barszewski</span></strong></span></p>
<p>It could be six weeks or more before a part needed to repair the broken George Bush Boulevard Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach can be fabricated, Palm Beach County officials announced March 18. It could take even longer for the bridge to reopen.</p>
<p>The bridge malfunctioned March 3 because of damage to a main shaft and gear section in its drive system, which were original machinery on the 73-year-old bridge, officials said.</p>
<p>A replacement shaft was fabricated March 11 and tested with the existing gear. A structural engineering consulting firm inspected the bridge and determined other drive shaft machinery components, including a damaged bearing, also need to be replaced. It said further testing is needed of the remaining machinery in both spans.</p>
<p>"The fabrication of a new replacement bearing will take approximately six weeks, but may take longer depending on the availability of material," county officials said in a news release. "The testing of the remaining machinery is ongoing and may require additional replacements and time. The bridge will remain open to boat traffic and closed to vehicular traffic."</p>
<p>The 1949 bascule bridge has been closed indefinitely since the main shaft sheared in two during a nightime bridge opening. The damaged part was removed and shipped to Alabama for fabrication of a replacement. Officials said Friday that the county is coordinating all bridge repair work with state transportation officials.</p>
<p>"The bridge reopening will occur once the repairs are completed and we have concurrence from the Florida Department of Transportation and the structural engineering consulting firm," officials said. In the meantime, detours are directing traffic desiring to cross the Intracoastal south to Atlantic Avenue, either via State Road A1A on the barrier island or Federal Highway on the mainland. </p>
<p>The Atlantic Avenue crossing is the closest to the broken bridge. The next crossing to the north is the Woolbright Road bridge in Boynton Beach.</p>
<p>The bridge closure has been yet another headache for drivers who regularly use the stretch of George Bush Boulevard between Federal Highway and Ocean Boulevard. A one-block portion directly east of Federal Highway was closed for two weeks in January as part of an ongoing $2 million road improvement project. </p>
<p>Work on the road project, which runs from Northeast Second Avenue to A1A, started in July and isn’t expected to be completed until the summer of 2023. The project, being done by FDOT contractors, includes roadwork and drainage improvements, but not work to the bridge itself.</p>
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<p> </p></div>Lantana: Beach closing for restorationhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-beach-closing-for-restoration2022-02-18T15:58:16.000Z2022-02-18T15:58:16.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>Lantana beach and the south entrance to the park will be closed for two weeks beginning on Feb. 28 for a restoration project.</p>
<p>The undertaking is the result of an interlocal agreement with the towns of Lantana, South Palm Beach and Palm Beach.</p>
<p>Sand will be transported by trucks to Lantana’s beach (and South Palm Beach) from an existing stockpile at Phipps Ocean Park.</p>
<p>The Lantana Town Council approved the agreement during a special meeting Feb. 9.</p>
<p>Mike Jenkins, the engineering consultant for Palm Beach, told Lantana officials during a workshop last December that if dune projects are done in concert together over a larger area, they tend to perform better.</p>
<p>“One of the critical aspects of this is if Lantana joins in this program to maintain a beach through repetitive dune projects, those projects will then become eligible for FEMA funds if there’s a declared disaster after a hurricane,” Jenkins said.</p>
<p>South Palm Beach will pay for the sand in exchange for ocean access from Lantana.</p>
<p>Lantana Town Manager Brian Raducci said the beach closing would not include the Dune Deck Café.</p>
<p>— <em>Mary Thurwachter</em></p></div>Boynton Beach: Commission OKs Legacy project despite opposition to street closurehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-commission-oks-legacy-project-despite-opposition-to2021-02-03T16:53:34.000Z2021-02-03T16:53:34.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8511305256,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8511305256,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="414" alt="8511305256?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Charles Elmore</strong></p>
<p>An eight-story residential and retail project has won a green light from city commissioners, despite a planning board’s earlier rejection and objections from some neighbors that it will sever part of a downtown street and worsen congestion.<br /> With 5-0 votes Jan. 19, Boynton Beach’s commission set the stage for developers to proceed with Legacy at Boynton Beach. The plan includes 274 apartments, 12,422 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and 530 parking spaces, mostly in an enclosed garage.<br /> It marks the latest step in a redevelopment surge downtown.<br /> The 2.76-acre site at the northeast corner of Southeast Second Avenue and Federal Highway encompasses parcels of land obtained by an affiliate of Beachwood, Ohio-based Goldberg Cos. Inc.<br /> One source of friction in public meetings since last fall has been that the plan permanently would close a portion of Southeast First Avenue, ending its connection to Federal Highway.<br /> Property owners near the project, including Tony Mauro, told commissioners in a Jan. 6 meeting the closure would be a “calamity” that crimps access to neighboring businesses. Periodic traffic backups and flooding on East Ocean Avenue would make the loss of alternatives worse, while also limiting access by ambulances or other emergency vehicles, he argued.<br /> “It’s irresponsible,” Mauro said.<br /> Mayor Steven Grant said alternate routes are available that he has driven himself, and he dismissed the inconvenience as “negligible.”<br /> The partial closure “was something we were asked to do,” said developer representative Bonnie Miskel. <br /> Consulting with traffic agencies, city staff members said that for reasons of safety and traffic flow they favored closure of an outlet that puts turning vehicles close to the busy intersection of Federal Highway and Ocean Avenue. <br /> Developers have pledged to enhance sidewalks along the remaining portion of Southeast First Avenue and improve areas where trucks can unload to support businesses.<br /> Other owners of properties in the area voiced support for the partial road closure, saying the span was often used for parking in a way that hindered traffic moving through.<br /> At the Jan. 19 meeting, attorney Jason Evans, representing property owners concerned about the plan, renewed what he called “vehement” objections as his clients consider options for legal challenges. He said he requested but never received traffic studies to back up the claims of developers and city staff.<br /> “This is a taking,” Evans said. “This is something that’s not going to be taken lightly.”<br /> Miskel disputed that, saying developers had consulted with multiple experts and met all regulatory burdens.<br /> Grant maintained the net effect would be good for all involved.<br /> “I believe the adjacent property owners will receive higher property values because of this development and improvements in the area,” the mayor said.<br /> The city’s planning and development board voted 4-3 against one component of the plan in September, and 6-1 against two other pieces. Among the concerns expressed was a “rushed” timetable while many seasonal residents were not present to weigh in on traffic and density issues.<br /> At the same time, board members acknowledged the City Commission has final say.<br /> The project will feature a modern coastal architectural style, according to city staff reports.<br /> “The project’s materials include simulated weathered wood planks, clear glass at the retail level, black window frames, vertically oriented windows and subtle tan tones that create a warmth to the building while maintaining clean lines,” staffers wrote.<br /> At least 20 smaller apartments are planned to be “attainable,” Miskel said Jan. 6, meaning affordable to workers with limited incomes under rules that allow developers to put more residential units than usual in the same space. Further details of those plans were expected to be discussed at future meetings. </p></div>South Palm Beach: COVID exposure closes town hallhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-covid-exposure-closes-town-hall2020-12-04T22:23:58.000Z2020-12-04T22:23:58.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>South Palm Beach has postponed its Dec. 8 council meeting and restricted access to town hall after a town employee tested positive for COVID-19 this week.</p>
<p>Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the building is being sanitized and no rescheduling date for the meeting has been set. Fischer said the employee reported for work but went home after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. She said the employee was feeling better by the end of the week.</p>
<p>Town officials are urging residents to take advantage of free testing for the virus beginning at 9 a.m. on Dec. 11 in the town hall parking lot. The Health Care District of Palm Beach County is administering the tests and the town will offer free ice cream to those who attend.</p></div>Manalapan: A1A to close due to tunnel constructionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-a1a-to-close-due-to-tunnel-construction2020-09-10T17:55:17.000Z2020-09-10T17:55:17.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="yiv0586173692MsoNormal">Construction has started on a tunnel at 1940 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan. As a result, State Road A1A is expected to be closed to through traffic starting Monday September 14<sup>th</sup> at 7:00 am. Reopening is expected Friday September 18<sup>th</sup> at 5:00 p.m. The road will be open to local traffic only. Police will be stationed at the Inlet and at Town Hall to monitor traffic.</p>
<p class="yiv0586173692MsoNormal"> SOURCE: Town of Manalapan</p>
<p class="yiv0586173692MsoNormal"></p></div>Along the Coast: Bridges called safe, reliable, with malfunctions not ongoing issuehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-bridges-called-safe-reliable-with-malfunctions-no2019-01-02T16:58:40.000Z2019-01-02T16:58:40.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960838680,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960838680,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960838680?profile=original" /></a><em>The Boca Raton Inlet bridge was briefly closed six times in late November because of electrical problems. The closures caused traffic delays for thousands of drivers.</em></p>
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<p><strong>By Henry Fitzgerald</strong><br /> <br />They’re often called arteries — the streets and roads that carry drivers and their vehicles back and forth. And as with human arteries, any blockage can cause a problem.<br /> As recent issues with the Boca Raton Inlet bridge have shown, when one bridge is closed, traffic becomes a headache for thousands of drivers. When a second one is closed, traffic becomes a nightmare.<br /> But South County drivers shouldn’t look at the recent traffic jams as something that will happen constantly due to problems with the area’s bridges. <br /> “These bridges don’t have structural problems,” said Barry Meve, Palm Beach County bridge superintendent. “They’re well maintained and there aren’t any major problems. These bridges are designed to operate over a 75-year life.”<br /> South Palm Beach County residents largely use six bridges to move to and from and about the barrier island on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway: the Linton Boulevard bridge, the Spanish River Boulevard bridge, the Palmetto Park Road bridge, the Boca Inlet bridge on State Road A1A, the Camino Real bridge and the Hillsboro Boulevard bridge in Broward County. <br /> Three of the bridges are younger than 50: the Linton Boulevard bridge, built in 1981 (37), the Spanish River Boulevard bridge in 1971 (47), and the Palmetto Park Road bridge in 1987 (31). The Boca Inlet bridge was built in 1963 (55), the Camino Real bridge in 1939 (79), and the Hillsboro Boulevard bridge in 1957 (61). <br /> The Camino Real bridge, which closed in April for a yearlong rehabilitation project, is now expected to remain closed until July, according to engineers.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960838701,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960838701,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="450" alt="7960838701?profile=original" /></a><em>The Camino Real bridge closed in April for rehab work. When the Boca Inlet bridge had problems, traffic backed up because this bridge was already closed.</em></p>
<p>People who used that bridge could travel north to the Palmetto Park Road bridge, then take the Boca Inlet bridge if they need to head south. Or they could head south to the Hillsboro Boulevard bridge to get across the Intracoastal.<br /> Things got complicated when the Boca Inlet bridge shut down six times in the last two weeks of November because of an electrical problem. <br /> “These bridges are separate as far as their operations go, but there is coordination each time one of them opens,” Meve said. “All of that is interlocked, so if one thing happens to a second bridge, the entire operation stops. We try to coordinate so two bridges aren’t closed at once. Only when there is a problem does anyone notice.”<br /> Florida Power & Light officials installed a “line monitor” to track power surges at the Boca Inlet bridge, said Guillermo Canedo, a Florida Department of Transportation spokesman. FDOT is responsible for maintaining the Boca Inlet, Spanish River Boulevard and Hillsboro Boulevard bridges. <br /> Palm Beach County is responsible for the Camino Real, Linton Boulevard and Palmetto Park Road bridges. <br /> “Over the last few weeks we haven’t had any power surges that affected the [Boca Inlet] bridge,” Canedo said. “We’re continuing to work with FPL to isolate and resolve the problem.”<br /> Meve said the 306 fixed bridges the county is responsible for are inspected every 24 months, while its eight drawbridges are inspected every 12 months. <br /> “We have a mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer on the inspection team,” he said. “We also go underwater to inspect the pilings.”<br /> Meve said the Linton bridge is not structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The Palmetto Park Road bridge is not structurally deficient, but it is functionally obsolete because of narrow lanes, absence of bike lanes and the existence of sight hazards.<br /> “That doesn’t mean it’s not safe,” Meve said. “Nor is the designation an indication that there is something wrong with the structure of the bridge.”<br /> However, there are no immediate plans to rehab the bridge, he said. <br /> The Camino Real bridge was deemed structurally deficient, forcing the county to plan the $8.9 million rehab project.<br /> Kiewit Infrastructure South, of Broward County, will widen the bridge, renovate and replace the fender system, install new mechanical equipment, reconstruct the approaches and sidewalks, make minor drainage improvements and move the bridge tender’s house from the southeast corner to the northeast corner.<br /> “It’s going to be functionally improved from what it was originally,” said Kristine Frazell-Smith, manager of the county’s Local Roads Section.<br /> FDOT says none of its three bridges is considered structurally deficient nor functionally obsolete.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960839272,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960839272,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="500" alt="7960839272?profile=original" /></a><em>The Spanish River Boulevard bridge is one of six that drivers in South Palm Beach County use to get across the Intracoastal Waterway. Work on the bridge is tentatively scheduled for 2019.</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Our bridges</strong></span></p>
<p>Linton Boulevard <br />(Palm Beach County)<br />Year built: 1981 <br />Average daily traffic: 19,276<br />Structurally deficient: No<br />Functionally obsolete: No<br />Next project: No projects scheduled.</p>
<p>Spanish River Blvd. <br />(FDOT)<br />Year built: 1971<br />Average daily traffic: 8,950 (as of 2017) <br />Structurally deficient: No<br />Functionally obsolete: No<br />Next project (tentative): 2019; substructure, painting, span locks</p>
<p>Palmetto Park Road (PBC)<br />Year built: 1987<br />Average daily traffic: 14,315<br />Structurally deficient: No<br />Functionally obsolete: Yes (narrow lanes, no bike lanes, sight hazards)<br />Next project: No projects scheduled.</p>
<p>Boca Inlet on A1A <br />(FDOT)<br />Year built: 1963<br />Average daily traffic: 11,100<br />Structurally deficient: No<br />Functionally obsolete: No<br />Next project: 2020; bridge painting</p>
<p>Camino Real <br />(PBC)<br />Year built: 1939 <br />Average daily traffic: 8,351 (measured February 2018)<br />Project in progress: Major repairs and overhaul began in April 2018, and bridge is expected to reopen in July.</p>
<p>Hillsboro Boulevard <br />(FDOT)<br />Year built: 1957<br />Average daily traffic: 20,500<br />Structurally deficient: No<br />Functionally obsolete: No<br />Next project: No projects scheduled.</p>
<p><em>Sources: FDOT; Palm Beach County Engineering and Public Works, Bridge Section</em></p></div>Boca Raton: Airport Authority examines options for tower’s futurehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-airport-authority-examines-options-for-tower-s-future2013-05-02T16:33:07.000Z2013-05-02T16:33:07.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong><br /><br />Although Congress restored funding to the Federal Aviation Administration late last month to pay for air traffic controllers at major airports and avoid furloughs there, the fate of the tower at Boca Raton Airport — and 148 towers at small airports across the country — remains up in the air. <br />While the FAA now has enough money to cover the costs of tower operations at the small airports, it has not made it clear how those funds will be applied. As a result, Boca Raton airport officials are still operating under the assumption that funding could be discontinued as of June 15.<br />“At this point, we and all other 148 towers have begun a new campaign to lobby the FAA to fund the towers,” said Janet Sherr, director of landside operations for the Boca Raton Airport Authority.<br />At a meeting before Congress releasing funds to the FAA, the authority began the lengthy process of preparing to self-fund air traffic control tower operations, should a lawsuit and the latest round of lobbying efforts fail to restore funding.<br />While a decision on whether or not to seek alternative ways to pay for the tower operations will not come until after other avenues are exhausted, the authority, at its April meeting, authorized staff to begin seeking out qualified firms interested in taking over tower operation should federal funding evaporate due to government sequester cutbacks. <br />On the advice of legal counsel, however, the board stopped short of making a firm commitment to self fund tower operations, despite the efforts of one member, who said he was concerned about mixed messages being sent to the public.<br />During the recent meeting, authority member David Freudenberg ha asked that the authority provide the community with a clear statement of what it plans to do if the lawsuit and all lobbying efforts by local, state and federal officials are unsuccessful.<br />“There is a very clear message to the community that we are aware of the desire to keep the tower open but we’re still saying that the Boca Raton tower is on death row,” Freudenberg said. <br />“We owe it to the community to make it very, very clear – we must keep this tower open. It’s time for this board to direct staff to make it clear in their statements that this tower will not close and we should give staff the directive to do what is necessary to keep it open,” he said.<br />Before other authority members could respond to Freudenberg’s comments, however, authority attorney Dawn Meyers intervened suggesting that further discussions could be detrimental to the still pending lawsuit.<br />Meyers said that the board’s decision to take legal action and to proceed with the process of finding a private tower operator should other efforts fail, indicated the direction the panel was headed in. <br />“You have taken two assertive steps showing the community exactly what your intention and commitment is,” she said. <br />Board Chair Frank Feiler echoed the attorney’s comments. <br />“We couldn’t be any more decisive in the direction we’re moving forward in and in the steps we’re taking,” he said.<br />Authority member Cheryl Budd followed up on Feiler’s comments with a question to Meyers. <br />“In a hypothetical situation, if the authority had no legal recourse and no potential of funding from state and federal governments and we still wanted to go forward and keep the tower open, is there anything we would be doing that we’re not already doing?” she asked. <br />“Nothing,” Meyers said.<br />Earlier in the meeting, Meyers said that the decision to proceed with a two-step procurement process – which includes a request for qualifications from firms interested in operating the tower, followed by a request for proposals in the event that other efforts failed – did not commit the board to hiring any of the firms that applied. <br />“We must anticipate that potentially you may be in a position where you’ll have to choose whether or not to keep the tower open,” she said. </p></div>