New Big Carlos Pass Bridge rising quickly, on track for 2026 completion
Gulf Coast News
[{'start': '6.739', 'end': '11.911', 'text': ">> THOSE OF YOU WHO DRIVE OVER   THE BIG CARLOS PASS BRIDGE TO   GET ON AND OFF. FORT MYERS   BEACH. THIS IS TO THE SOUTH OF   THE BEACH ARE ABOUT TO HAVE A   WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE. GULF   COAST NEWS REPORTER BLAINE   MONTGOMERY FOUND OUT WHEN THE   NEW BRIDGE WILL BE OPEN.   >> WHEN YOU DRIVE OVER, YOU   CAN SEE AT LEAST HALF OF THE   NEW BRIDGE IS UP AND IT'S MUCH   HIGHER THAN THE CURRENT ONE.   THERE'S 5 CRANES AND CREWS OUT   WORKING TO GET THIS NEW SPIN    FINISHED.   >> IN THE PROCESS, IT SEEMS   LIKE IT'S TAKING FOREVER DAY   AFTER DAY. YOU SEE THE   CONCRETE BEING PUT IN. YOU SEE    THE BRIDGE GOING UP, A BRAND   NEW AND IMPROVED BRIDGE IN THE   WORKS. THE PEOPLE LIVING    NEARBY JUST HAVE ONE THING ON   THEIR MIND. A COMPLETION DATE.    WE LOOK AHEAD FOR THAT GOAL IN   TWENTY-TWENTY 6 CAN'T GET HERE    SOON ENOUGH. LEE COUNTY   STARTED WORK ON THE NEW BIG   CARLOS PASS BRIDGE IN THE   SUMMER OF 2023. THE BRIDGE   CONNECTS YOU FROM FORT MYERS    BEACH TO LOVERS KEY BOB IRZYK   AND HIS WIFE HAD A FRONT ROW   SEAT TO THE CONSTRUCTION   PROJECT THEY SAY HAS BEEN   NOISY, BUT THEY KNOW IT'S ALL   WORTH THE WAIT. WE LIVE IN A   BUILDING THAT'S RIGHT ACROSS    FROM THE BRIDGE. SO WE HEAR   EVERYTHING. WE SEE EVERYTHING.   IT COULD BE 5, 6 O'CLOCK IN   THE MORNING. WE'LL HEAR THAT    BP BEEPING NOISE FROM THE   TRUCK BACKING UP. A NEW BRIDGE   IS BEING BUILT UP HIGHER WITH   THE CLEARANCE OF 60 FEET. YOU    CAN SEE JUST HOW MUCH HIGHER   UP FROM THE WATER THAT WILL BE    HERE. HERE'S A LOOK AT BRAND    NEW AERIALS FROM APRIL SHOWING   YOU WHAT THE BRIDGE IS   CURRENTLY LOOKING LIKE FROM   ABOVE WITH PUTTING IS THE   BRIDGE, THE FLOODINGS LIKE THE    PIERS. AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY   DO THE THEMES THEN THEY FOR    BRIDGE DECK. JENNIFER JOINING   SAYS THE NEW BRIDGE COULD BE   DONE AS EARLY AS NEXT SPRING.    >> THERE WILL BE BIKE LANES    AND EXPANDED SIDEWALK IN A 10    FOOT WIDE PATH. SOMETHING BOB   AND HIS WIFE SAY WILL BE A   HUGE BENEFIT FROM A STANDPOINT   OF WALKING AND BIKING. MY WIFE    AND BOTH LIKE OVER THE BRIDGE,   THE CURRENT RUNNING VERY   ISRAEL, CAROL LANE OVER THERE.   SO THERE'S"}]