The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2014 - Report by CARE FL Cathy Testa From:Kate Pingolt Cotner <kcotner@ircgov.com> Sent:Thursday, November 13, 2014 1:38 PM To:MFalls@covb.org; Coment, Wayne; Joseph Griffin; 'ginsburgrobert@aol.com' Subject:CARE FL comments by Captain Goward on Current Navigability of FECR's movable bridges Attachments:CARE USCG Submittal.PDF Importance:High Good afternoon, Attached for your reading pleasure is a lovely report put together by the CARE FL group concerning the navigability of the St. Lucie Bridge and the Loxahatchee Bridge. As I am sure everyone knows, these bridges are the Achilles heel of the AAF project. Enjoy!!  Kate Kate Pingolt Cotner, Esq. Assistant County Attorney Indian River County 1801 27th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960-3365 kcotner@ircgov.com Phone: (772) 226-1406 Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.  Before printing this e-mail, think if it is necessary. Think Green! 1 To: Seventh Coast Guard District Bridge Branch (via email) Docket no. USCG-2014-0937 Public Hearing From: Dana A. Goward, SES USCG (ret) Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida Maritime Governance, LLC 571-225-2580 (c) dagoward@gmail.com Re: St. Lucie River and Loxahatchee River bridge comments Date: November 13, 2014 & November 14, 2014 On behalf of the Citizens Against Rail Expansion Florida (CARE FL) Steering Committee, please find the attached formal comments that I am submitting regarding the impact of rail bridges over the St. Lucie River and Loxahatchee River and associated waterways. In August of 2013 I retired from a position in U.S. federal Senior Executive Service as the nation’s maritime navigation authority. As part of my duties, I was responsible for permitting and regulation of over 18,000 bridges over the navigable waters of the United States. I also served as Dept. of Homeland Security representative to the White House’s “President’s Steering Committee on Federal Infrastructure Permitting and Review Process Improvement.” And I am a retired USCG Captain, with more than 40 years of maritime experience. (Please see my attached full biography.) I am deeply troubled by the current and future retention of the totally inadequate St. Lucie and Loxahatchee bridges for the reasons detailed in the comments I am respectfully submitting for consideration by the Coast Guard. I am submitting two complementary but different sets of comments: One details my observations and suggestions related to the St. Lucie bridge and waterway; the second addresses the Loxahatchee bridge and waterway. Jupiter, Tequesta, Stuart and southern Martin County are water-oriented communities whose economies and attractions depend on accessible and usable waterways. As detailed in the attached comments, I believe that the current bridges negatively and unreasonably impact waterway traffic, which is inextricably tied to regional economies and local quality of life. This will be made even worse if rail activity is expanded. Thank you for the Coast Guard’s proactive stance to address these issues. Anticipated growth in rail traffic will only aggravate existing problems. And, while I understand that you are not addressing any specific proposals for entirely new services, such as All Aboard Florida, that would impact these bridges, this process and your thoughtful consideration now will prepare us all to address those issues as well. 1 Please feel free to reach out to me directly should you have additional questions, or require further clarification. Sincerely, Dana Goward, SES USCG (ret) CC: Stephen M. Ryan, Esq. CARE FL Legal Counsel McDermott Will & Emery LLP 202.756.8333 sryan@mwe.com Bill Ward CARE FL Steering Committee Mariner Sands Country Club Stuart, FL 772.419.5321 BWard@marinersands.com Brent Hanlon CARE FL Steering Committee Loblolly Hobe Sound, FL 772.546.8700 bhanlon@mail.loblollyinfo.com 2 1 CommentsforUSCGΑPortSt.LucieBridgeOperations November2014 Summary: Changesinrailtrafficandmaritimeactivitysince1938havecausedtheFloridaEastCoastRailroad bridgeatPortSt.LucieovertheSt.LucieRivertobecomeanunreasonableobstructiontonavigation. Thebridgemusteitherbecompletelyremoved,orreplacedwithonethatisnotunreasonably obstructive. Intheinterim,strict,highlypredictable,longtermschedulingofbridgeopeningsandclosingsmustbe institutedtomitigateobstructionofthewaterway. Background: WaterwayDescription&NavigationConsiderations Thewaterwayconnectsthecommunitiesof GoogleEarth PalmCity,PortSt.Lucie,partsofStuart,and Bridge theOkeechobeeWaterwaytotheAtlantic andthenorthsouthportionoftheintra Ocean coastalwaterway.TheOkeechobee Waterwayconnectstheeastandwestcoasts ofFlorida,ismaintainedatadepthof8feet andissuitableforbothcommercialtugbarge andrecreationaltraffic.The165mile waterwayfromStuartontheeastcoasttoFt. Myersonthewestcoastsavesapproximately 360milescomparedtoroundingtheFlorida peninsula.TheArmyCorpsofEngineers reportsthatapproximately10,000vesselsand 26,000tonsofcargotransittheǞğƷĻƩǞğǤƭ͸ nearbySt.Lucielockeachyear. ThenavigablewaterwaypassesthroughaЎЉ͸ NOAA wideopeningbetweentheprotected abutmentsoftheFECrailroadbridge.Thisisthenarrowestpointthatmarinersmustnavigateonthe 154mileOkeechobeeWaterwaywherethecanalvariesfrom80to100feetwide(someofthelocksare ЎЉ͸wide,buttheyarenotinopenwater,subjecttocrosscurrentsanddonotposenavigationsafety issues). 1 ThesecommentsaddressonlythecurrentoperationandconditionofthisbridgeasofNovember2014.A supplementwillbeprovidedtoaddressproposalsforincreaseduseofthebridgeincludedintheAllAboardFlorida DraftEIS. 3 WhenthebridgeiscloseditcomeswithinА͸ofthe surfaceofthewater,effectivelyclosingthe waterwayvesselsthatrequirelessthanА͸vertical clearanceusuallyhaveveryshallowdraftsanddo notneedtousethechannelportionofthe waterwayastheycansafelypassunderthebridges atnumerouspoints.Whentherailroadbridgeis open,waterwayverticalclearanceintheareaisЏЎ͸ undertheadjacentRoute1HighwayBridge,and ЊЍ͸undertheadjacentdrawbridgeonN.Dixie Highway.Thisdrawbridgeismannedbyabridge Threebridgesinlessthan¼mile tenderandwillopenupondemand. Transitingthroughthesethreebridgesis challengingformanyvesselsbecauseofthe configurationofthewaterway.Vesselsmustpass s throughthreenarrowbridgeopenings,whichare p notperfectlyaligned,withinlessthanaquarter Ma le mile.Aswithanychokepointbetweenlarge g bodiesoftidalwaters,currentsarestrongexcept Goo forbriefwindowsduringslacktide.Captainsof tugandbargeoperationsreportthattheymust timetheirtransitscarefullysoastoarrivewhen Aswithanychokepointbetweenlargebodiesoftidalwaters, thetideischangingandthecurrentisatits currentsarestrongexceptforbriefwindowsduringslacktide. weakest.Andwhilesmallervesselsareableto passeachothersafely,transitsofthequartermilegauntletbyvesselsofanysizearelimitthewaterway toonewaytraffic. ChangesinRailTrafficandWaterwayUse Whentherailbridgewasbuilt,circa1938,useofthewaterwaywasmuchlowerandtrainswerevery infrequent.Inthelast76years: ThepopulationinSt.LucieandMartincountieshasgrownfromafewthousandtoover350,000 fulltimeresidents.Thewinterpopulationinmanyareasincreasesby20%. Theregionaleconomyandlifestylehasshiftedfrommostlyagriculture(pineapplefarming)to waterwayorientedresidential,andwaterorientedcommercial TheAtlanticintracoastalwaterwaywasbuiltandintersectedwiththeSt.LucieRiver TheOkeechobeeWaterwaywasbuiltconnectingFt.Myers,PalmCity,Stuart,St.Lucie,the Atlanticintracoastalwaterway,andtheAtlanticOcean. WaterwayusebetweentheSt.LucieRiverwestoftheFECrailbridgeandpointseasthasgreatly increased.Duringone53dayperiodalmost13,000transitswereobserved.Thisequatestoover 88,000peryear. Thenumberofrailroadbridgeclosuresperdayhasgreatlyincreased,andtheclosuretimes havegottenlonger. 4 Waterwayusersfrombothsidesofthebridgetransittousethewaterways.Mostofthemarina(fifteen marinas)anddockagespaceintheareaiswest(upstream)ofthebridge.Thesevessels,andthose transitingfromtheOkeechobeeWaterway,mustpassthroughtheFECrailbridgetoaccesstheAtlantic Oceanand/ortheAtlanticintracoastalwaterway,andcontributetotheestimated88,000transitsper year. TheGulfStreamisoftenwithin8to14milesoffthecoastmakingoffshorefishingparticularlyattractive. AccordingtotheFECR,thebridgeclosesthewaterwayapproximately14timeseachdayandthe closureslastapproximately20minutes.Localresidents,though,reportmoreextendedclosuresand indicatethatclosuresofanhourarenotuncommonwhenthebridgedoesnotopeninbetweentrains. Noneoftheclosuresarescheduled,noraretheyannouncedmorethanafewminutesinadvance.Users alsohavenowayofknowinghowlongtheclosurewilllast. Bridgeclosuresdiscourageusersonbothsideofthebridgefromfullyusingthewaterways,especially sincetheclosuresareatrandomandofunpredictablelength. TheBridgeDoesNotMeettheReasonableNeedsofNavigationBecause: 1.Itinterfereswithprimaryeconomicengineofthelocaleconomyandunderminesthe foundationuponwhichthelocalwaterorientedcommunitieswerebuilt. HugewaterorientedcommunitiesinStuart,PalmCity,St.Lucieandthesurroundingareas,marine services,marineretail,andallthesupportingbusinessandeconomicactivitywouldnotexist,butfor thepresenceandusabilityofthewaterways. TheimportanceofthistypeofeconomicactivityisessentialtotheentirestateofFloridaandiswell documented.TheFloridaOceansandCoastalCouncilreportedthatthestatescoastalcounties contributeabout79percentofthestate's economicproductivity."Florida'sOceanand CommunitiesBuilt CoastalEconomiesReport,PhaseII." AroundWaterwayUse Dr.JamesCato,aneconomist,FloridaOceans andCoastalCouncilmember,andformer Director,SchoolofNaturalResourcesandthe Environment,UniversityofFloridahas testifiedthat"Anythingaffectingcoastal tourism,recreationandmarine transportationhasahugeimpactonFlorida's oceanĻĭƚƓƚƒǤͶŷĻƭĻsectorsofeconomic activityrepresent88percentofFlorida's oceanĻĭƚƓƚƒǤͶͼ ͻhĭĻğƓƭandCoastDrive CƌƚƩźķğ͸ƭ9ĭƚƓƚƒǤͼEnvironmentalNews Service,1Oct2008 Mapquest Over450vesselsperdaytransitthroughthe bridgeonpeakdays.Thesecanbeavariedcombinationoflargeandsmallrecreationalvesselsand 5 largertugswithbarges.Thismixtureincreaseswaittimesaslargervesselsmustpassthroughmore slowlyanddonotsafelyallowfortrafficintheoppositedirection.Manyvesselsmustloiterforsome periodwaitingforthebridgetoopen,burningfuel,increasingairemissions,andwastingtime. Loiteringalsoincreasestheriskofvesselscollidingwitheachother,runningagroundorbeingset uponthebridgebystrongcurrents. Railbridgeclosuresdeterwaterwayuse.Whileitisimpossibletomeasureeventsthatdonotoccur, itis,nevertheless,obviousthatwaterwayusewouldbehigherifthebridgeneverclosed,andthe 2 surroundingĭƚƒƒǒƓźƷǤ͸ƭeconomieswouldbethatmuchstronger. 2.TheĬƩźķŭĻ͸ƭageandconditionrisksstructuralandmechanicalfailuresthatobstructthe waterway. Whileinformationonpastbridge malfunctionswasnotimmediately availableforthispaper,acasual inspectionofthebridgeshowsthatit hassufferedfromlackofattentionand maintenance. Asthe76yearoldbridgestructure, materialsandmechanismscontinuetoageanddegrade,mechanicaland materialfailuresarecertain. 3.Alternativestoobstructingthewaterwayexist,areavailableandfeasible. Waterwayusershaveonlyonerouteavailabletothem,therailroadhasseveral. Railroadtracksfarthertothewestareavailable,andinuse,forbothfreightandpassengerservice. Anelevatedrailbridgeisfeasible.Bridgeswithgradesofupto4%supportfreightoperationsin otherlocations. usinga76yearold,poorlymaintainedbridgethatunreasonablyobstructsthe Alternativesto waterwayaremoreexpensivefortheFECR.Bynotusingthesealternatives,though,FECRis imposingmuchgreatercostsonthecitizensofthesurroundingarea. 2 Whilethelocalareaisprosperousandgrowing,regionaleconomicinformationisunfortunatelynotreadily available.Thisinformationiscrucialtopublicpolicydecisions,however,andsuchdataandanalysesmustbe incorporatedintoanydecisions.Forexample,ifanobstructiverailbridgedecrementsa$20B/yrlocaleconomyby halfapercent,thatwouldbeacostshiftfromtheprivaterailcompanytotaxpayersof$100M/yr.Similarly,ifit degradedthevalueof$50Binpropertybyhalfapercent,thatwouldbealossof$250Mtotaxpayers. 6 4.Competentgovernmentagencieshavedeterminedthatthebridgeheightdoesnot provideforthereasonableneedsofnavigation. IfFECRweretoseekapermittobuildthisbridgetoday,itwouldbedenied. USCoastGuardandUSDepartmentofTransportationpoliciesspecificallystatepreferencesforfixed bridgesovermobilebridges,wheneverpossible,astheyminimizenegativeimpactstoall transportationmodesattheseimportantintersectionsofsystems. WhentheStateofFloridaconstructedtheRoute1bridgeovertheSt.LucieRiverandadjacentto theFECrailbridgeitmadeadeliberatedecisionthatafixedbridgeatЏЎ͸overthewaterwaywould meettheneedsofbothnavigationandhighwaytraffic.Highwaytrafficismorecontinuousthanrail traffic,sotheparallelisnotexact.However,asrailtraffichasincreased,bothinthenumberof trainsandtheirlength,theparallelbetweenthetwohasbecomemuchcloser.Forexample,local officialsandwaterwayusersreportthattherailbridgeoftendoesnotopenbetweenindividual trainstoallownavigation,evenifitmeansanother20minutesthewaterwaywillbeclosed. TheFECRRbridgeisapproximatelyА͸abovethewaterwhenclosed.TheUSCGBridgeClearance GuidecallsforbridgesinthisareatobeЋЊ͸abovethewaterwhenclosed͵Guidanceforbascule bridgesontheOkeechobeewaterwaybetweenSt.LucielocksandtheAtlanticintercoastal waterwayΑsee:http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg551/bridge.aspFromthiswebsite:Bridgesatthe guideheight ͻͶ willordinarilyreceivefavorableconsiderationunderthebridgepermittingprocess (33CFRChapter1,SubchapterJBridges)ğƭƦƩƚǝźķźƓŭŅƚƩƷŷĻƩĻğƭƚƓğĬƌĻƓĻĻķƭƚŅƓğǝźŭğƷźƚƓ͵ͼ TheBridgeDoesNotMeettheReasonableNeedsofNavigation.TheCoastGuard mustdesignatethisbridgeasanunreasonableobstructiontonavigationundertheTruman Hobbsactandmandateitsreplacement. MitigationPendingRemovalorReplacementoftheBridge Untilthebridgeisremovedorreplaced,itsnegativeimpactonthewaterwaymustbeminimized. Thisrequiresthat: 1.Thewaterwaybeopentonavigationforatleast31minuteseachhour, 2.Thelengthofopeningsallowpassageofallvesselswaiting, 3.Theamountoftimeforanysingleclosuredoesnotexceed15minutesasthiswould discouragewaterwayuse,and 4.Thetimesthatthewaterwaywillbeopenarehighlypredictableandeasilyunderstood. Openings T helawgivesdeferencetowaterwaysusersbecauseoftheirlimitedalternatives,andthemultiple alternativesavailabletosurfacetransportation. Thewaterwaymustbeopenatleast31minutesperhour,andforatleast15minutesperopening. 7 Safevesseltransitsareoftenlimitedbythenarrowpassagetoonedirectionatatime,andtheneed foraslowtomodestspeed(nomorethan10to15knots).Thelengthoftheopeningsmustallow passageforallvesselswaitingonbothsidestocross.With88,000transitsperyearandupto450 perday,includinglargecommercialvessels,waitinglinescanbelong.Lessthan15minuteswould oftenbeinsufficientforvesselsonbothsidesofthebridgetoorganize,accelerate,andindividually passunderthebridge.Notethatitistoonarrowforsafetwowaytrafficformanyvessels. Waitingforthebridgetoopendegradestheboatingexperiencesignificantly,andcandrivepotential waterwayuserstojuststayhome.Accordingtooneauthority: ͻ!ƒĻƩźĭğƓƭspendroughly37billionhourseachyearwaitinginline.Thedominantcostof waitingisanemotionalone:stress,boredom,thatnaggingsensationthatƚƓĻ͸ƭlifeisslipping away.Thelastthingwewanttodowithourdwindlingleisuretimeissquanderitinstasis.ͼ AlexStoneͻŷǤWaitingisƚƩƷǒƩĻͼNewYorkTimesSundayReviewOpinionPage,18August 2012. Informalinterviewswithusersshowthattheyconsiderawaitof15minutesorlessreasonable.This ispredicateduponthescheduleofsuchwaitsbeinghighlypredictablesothatuserscanstructure theirarrivalssoastoavoidmostclosuresaltogether. Asmentionedearlier,vesselsloiteringandtryingtopositionthemselvesforwhenthebridgeopens unnecessarilywastefuel,haveincreasedairemissionsduetotheadditionfuelburnandtypically lowenginespeed,andrungreaterriskofcollision,groundingandbeingsetuponthebridgeby strongcurrents. PredictabilityandClarity Safeandenjoyablewaterwayuserequirestimeandpreparation.Numerousitemsofequipment, someofwhichistimeconsumingtoprepareandrequiresspecialtransport,isofteninvolved.Itis alsooftenagroupactivity,soschedulesofmultiplepeoplemustbecoordinated,sometimesweeks inadvance. Minimizingthenegativeimpactofrailbridgeclosuresonwaterwayuserequiresthatusershavea longtermpredictablescheduleofwhenthewaterwaywillbeopen.Thiscertaintywillmanage expectations,andallowuserstoadjusttheiractivitiesandschedulesaccordingly. Itisalsoimportantthatschedulesbeclear,easilyunderstoodandrecalledfrommemory.For example:ͻŷĻbridgewillopenonthehourandhalfhour,andstayopenfor20ƒźƓǒƷĻƭ͵ͼ WepreferthatthescheduleforthewaterwaybeingopenispublishedintheFederalRegisteraspart oftherulemaking.Lesspreferred,butacceptable,wouldbethattherulemakingprovideforthe scheduletobepublishedatleast90daysinadvanceandthatallschedulesremainunchangedforat least90days. 8 1 CommentsforUSCGLoxahatcheeBridgeOperations November2014 Summary: Changesinrailtrafficandmaritimeactivitysince1935havecausedtheFloridaEastCoastRailroad bridgeovertheLoxahatcheeRivertobecomeanunreasonableobstructiontonavigation. Thebridgemusteitherbecompletelyremoved,orreplacedwithonethatisnotunreasonably obstructive. Intheinterim,strict,highlypredictable,longtermschedulingofbridgeopeningsandclosingsmustbe institutedtomitigateobstructionofthewaterway. Background: WaterwayDescription&NavigationConsiderations Thenavigablewaterwaypasses throughanarrow,ЍЉ͸space betweentheprotected abutmentsoftheFECrailroad FECRRBridge bridge.Whentherailroad bridgeisopen,waterway verticalclearanceisЋЎ͸which ToOcean iscontrolledbytheadjacent Route811fixedhighway bridge.The3,000mileintra coastalwaterwaythat traversestheAtlanticandGulf coastsisimmediatelytotheeastofthetwo bridges.AthirdofamiledownstreamtheRoute 1/A1AfixedhighwaybridgehasЋЏ͸vertical clearance. Whentherailroadbridgeisinusethewaterway intoandoutoftheLoxahatcheeRiversystemis closedasthebridgecomeswithinЍ͸ofsurfaceof Bridgeinuse=waterwayclosed thewater. 1 ThesecommentsaddressonlythecurrentoperationandconditionofthisbridgeasofNovember2014.A supplementwillbeprovidedtoaddressproposalsforincreaseduseofthebridgeincludedintheAllAboardFlorida DraftEIS. 9 Boatswaitingforthebridgetoopenmustoften contendwithstrongtidalcurrentsestimatedat7 to8knots.Thisiscausedbythetidesurging throughanarrowriverneckintoandoutofthe verylargebasinandrecreationareacomprised ofthethreeforksoftheLoxahatcheeRiverand theextensive,wideconfluenceareajustwestof thebridge.Boatswaitingforthebridgetoopen canhavedifficultyavoidingbeingsetontothe bridge,theshore,andeachother. Thenarrowpassageandstrongcurrentbeneaththebridgemakeitimpossible,oratbestunsafe,for evensmallvesselstopasseachother.Sotrafficisalmostalwayslimitedtoonewayatatime. ChangesinRailTrafficandWaterwayUse Whentherailbridgewasbuilt,circa1935,useofthewaterwaywasmuchlowerandtrainswerevery infrequent.Inthelast79years: Thelocalpopulationhasgrownbyapproximately10,000% Theregionaleconomyandlifestylehasshiftedfromworkingagriculturetowaterwayoriented residential,andwaterorientedcommercial TheintracoastalwaterwaywasbuiltandintersectedwiththeLoxahatchee WaterwayusebetweentheLoxahatcheeRiversystemandotherwaterwayareashasgreatly increased.For193daysduringthefirsthalfofthisyear,theJupiterInletDistrictobservedover 48,000vesseltransitsthroughtherailbridge.Thisequatestoover90,000ayear. Thenumberofrailroadbridgeclosuresperdayhasgreatlyincreased,andtheclosuretimes havegottenlonger. Whiletherearemorethan1,200boatslipsupstream,waterwayusersfrombothsidesofthebridge transittousethewaterwayontheotherside.Boatersfromtheeastsideofthebridgetransitwestto thebroaderandmoreshelteredareasoftherivertowaterski,jetski,picniconawideandlongsandbar atlowtide,andvisitJonathanDickinsonStatePark.Boatersfromthewestsidetransiteasttousethe intracoastalwaterway,visitmarinas,patronizerestaurants,andentertheAtlantic. TheGulfStreamcomesclosertoshoreinthisareathananywhereelseintheUnitedStates(between1 and2miles)makingoffshorefishingparticularlyattractive.Averageyearroundwatertemperatureis78 degreesaddingtotheattractivenessofinwaterandwaterbornerecreation. AccordingtotheFECR,thebridgeclosesthewaterwayapproximately14timeseachdayfor approximately20minutes.Residentsreportthattheclosurescanbemuchlonger,though,lastingupto anhourwhenthebridgedoesnotopenbetweentrains.DatacollectedbytheJupiterInletDistrict, though,showsthatthenumberoftimesperdaythewaterwayisopenfornavigationduringdaylight hoursvariesgreatlybetweenzeroand16.Noneoftheclosuresarescheduled,noraretheyannounced morethanafewminutesinadvance.Usersalsohavenowayofknowinghowlongtheclosurewilllast. 10 Bridgeclosuresdiscourageusersonbothsideofthebridgefromfullyusingthewaterways,especially sincetheclosuresareatrandomandofunpredictablelength. TheBridgeDoesNotMeettheReasonableNeedsofNavigationBecause: 1.Itinterfereswithprimaryeconomicengineofthelocaleconomyandunderminesthe foundationuponwhichthelocalwaterorientedcommunitieswerebuilt. HugewaterorientedcommunitiesinJupiter,Tequesta,southern MartinCountyandnorthernPalmBeachCounty,marineservices, CommunitiesLocatedSoAs marineretail,andallthesupportingbusinessandeconomic ToUseWaterways activitywouldnotexist,butforthepresenceandusabilityofthe waterways. Theimportanceofthistypeofeconomicactivityisessentialto theentirestateofFloridaandiswelldocumented.TheFlorida OceansandCoastalCouncilreportedthatthestatescoastal countiescontributeabout79percentofthestate'seconomic productivity."Florida'sOceanandCoastalEconomiesReport, PhaseII." Dr.JamesCato,aneconomist,FloridaOceansandCoastalCouncil member,andformerDirector,SchoolofNaturalResourcesand theEnvironment,UniversityofFloridahastestifiedthat Mapquest "Anythingaffectingcoastaltourism,recreationandmarine transportationhasahugeimpactonFlorida'socean ĻĭƚƓƚƒǤͶŷĻƭĻsectorsofeconomicactivityrepresent88percentofFlorida'soceanĻĭƚƓƚƒǤͶͼ ͻhĭĻğƓƭandCoastDriveCƌƚƩźķğ͸ƭ9ĭƚƓƚƒǤͼEnvironmentalNewsService,1Oct2008 Over500vesselsperdaytransitthroughthebridgeonpeakdays.Many,ifnotmost,mustloiterand waitforthebridgetoopen,burningfuel,increasingairemissions,andwastingtime.Loiteringalso increasestheriskofvesselscollidingwitheachother,runningagroundorbeingsetuponthebridge bystrongcurrents. Railbridgeclosuresdeterwaterwayuse.Whileitisimpossibletomeasureeventsthatdonotoccur, itis,nevertheless,obviousthatwaterwayusewouldbehigherifthebridgeneverclosed,andthe 2 surroundingĭƚƒƒǒƓźƷǤ͸ƭeconomieswouldbethatmuchstronger. 2 Whilethelocalareaisprosperousandgrowing,regionaleconomicinformationisunfortunatelynotreadily available.Thisinformationiscrucialtopublicpolicydecisions,however,andsuchdataandanalysesmustbe incorporatedintoanydecisions.Forexample,ifanobstructiverailbridgedecrementsa$20B/yrlocaleconomyby halfapercent,thatwouldbeacostshiftfromtheprivaterailcompanytotaxpayersof$100M/yr.Similarly,ifit degradedthevalueof$50Binpropertybyhalfapercent,thatwouldbealossof$250Mtotaxpayers. 11 2.TheĬƩźķŭĻ͸ƭageandconditionhascausedfailuresthatobstructedthewaterway.The riskofadditionalandmorefrequentobstructionsisincreasing. Upononeoccasionalargepieceofmetalfellfromthe bridgeandobstructedthewaterway.Becauseitwasnot Corrosion,lackofcare visiblefromthesurface,severalboatsstruckthemetaland reportedminordamage.Requeststotherailroadforitto beremovedwentunheeded.Thelargemetalobjectwas eventuallyclearedfromthewaterwaybytheJupiterInlet District. Mechanicalfailuresofthebridgemechanismhave obstructedthewaterwaywhileitwasbeingrepaired. Extendedwaterwayclosureshaveresultedfromafaultylockingsystem orsignalsystem.Withthebridgeinthedownposition,trainshave repeatedlystoppedshortofthecrossingfortheengineertodismount, walkuptothebridgetoensureitislockeddownandsafetocross.For southboundtrainsthisalsoblocksallthreestreetsexitingtheCityof Easilyaccessibleto TequestaandhasresultedincomplaintstoFECRbythemayor. pedestrians.No guardrails,barriers Verylittletonopreventivemaintenanceorcareisevidenttoanyone orwarningsigns. walkingoutontothebridge(thebridgeisentirelyaccessibletocasual pedestriansandevenlackslandsidewarningorͻƓƚƷƩĻƭƦğƭƭźƓŭͼsigns.) Asthe79yearoldbridgestructure,materialsandmechanismscontinuetoageanddegrade,an increaseinmechanicalandmaterialfailuresiscertain. 3.Alternativestoobstructingthewaterwayexist,areavailableandfeasible. Waterwayusershaveonlyonerouteavailabletothem,therailroadhasseveral. Railroadtracksfarthertothewestareavailable,andinuse,forbothfreightandpassengerservice. Anelevatedrailbridgeisfeasible.Bridgeswithgradesofupto4%supportfreightoperationsin otherlocations. USCoastGuardandUSDepartmentofTransportationpoliciesspecificallystatepreferencesforfixed bridgesovermobilebridges,wheneverpossible,astheyminimizenegativeimpactstoall transportationmodesattheseimportantintersectionsofsystems. WhentheStateofFloridaconstructedtheroute811/A1AbridgeovertheLoxahatcheeandadjacent totheFECrailbridgeitmadeadeliberatedecisionthatafixedbridgeatЋЎ͸overthewaterway wouldmeettheneedsofbothnavigationandhighwaytraffic.Highwaytrafficismorecontinuous thanrailtraffic,sotheparallelisnotexact.However,asrailtraffichasincreased,bothinthe numberoftrainsandtheirlength,theparallelbetweenthetwohasbecomemuchcloser.For example,localofficialsandwaterwayusersreportthatwhenindividualtrainsareseparatedby20 minutesorless,therailbridgewillnotopentoallownavigationbetweentraincrossings. 12 TheFECRRbridgeisapproximatelyЍ͸abovethewaterwhenclosed.TheUSCGBridgeClearance GuidecallsforbridgesontheadjacentintracoastalwaterwaytobeЋЊ͸abovethewaterwhen closed.GuidanceforbasculebridgesontheAtlanticintracoastalwaterwaybetweenJacksonville andaźğƒźΑsee:http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg551/bridge.aspFromthiswebsite:Bridgesatthe guideheight ͻͶ willordinarilyreceivefavorableconsiderationunderthebridgepermittingprocess (33CFRChapter1,SubchapterJBridges)as ƦƩƚǝźķźƓŭŅƚƩƷŷĻƩĻğƭƚƓğĬƌĻƓĻĻķƭƚŅƓğǝźŭğƷźƚƓ͵ͼ Alternativestousinga79yearold,poorlymaintainedbridgethatunreasonablyobstructsthe waterwayaremoreexpensivefortheFECR.However,bynotusingthesealternatives,FECRis imposingmuchgreatercostsonthecitizensofTequesta,Jupiterandthesurroundingarea. IfFECRweretoseekapermittobuildthisbridgetoday,itwouldbedenied. TheBridgeDoesNotMeettheReasonableNeedsofNavigation.TheCoastGuard mustdesignatethisbridgeasanunreasonableobstructiontonavigationundertheTruman Hobbsactandmandateitsreplacement. MitigationofNegativeImpactPendingRemovalorReplacementoftheBridge Untilthebridgeisremovedorreplaced,itsimpactonthewaterwaymustbeminimized.This requiresthat: 1.Thewaterwaybeopentonavigationforatleast31minuteseachhour, 2.Thelengthofopeningsallowpassageofallvesselswaiting, 3.Theamountoftimeforanysingleclosuredoesnotexceed15minutesasthiswould discouragewaterwayuse,and 4.Thetimesthatthewaterwaywillbeopenarehighlypredictableandeasilyunderstood. Openings T helawgivesdeferencetowaterwaysusersbecauseoftheirlimitedalternatives,andthemultiple alternativesavailabletosurfacetransportation. Thewaterwaymustbeopenatleast31minutesperhour,andforatleast15minutesperopening. Safevesseltransitsarelimitedbythenarrowpassagetoonedirectionatatime,andtheneedfora slowtomodestspeed(nomorethan10to15knots).Thelengthoftheopeningsmustallow passageforallvesselswaitingonbothsidestocross.TheJupiterInletDistricthasobservedan averageof288vesselbridgetransitseachday,andevenmorevesselswoulddoso,butforthe obstructionofthebridge.Withover500transitsperdayonpeakdays,waitinglinescanbelong. Lessthan15minuteswouldoftenbeinsufficientforvesselsonbothsidesofthebridgetoorganize, accelerate,andindividuallypassunderthebridge(itistoonarrowforsafetwowaytraffic). Waitingforthebridgetoopendegradestheboatingexperiencesignificantly,andcandrivepotential waterwayuserstojuststayhome.Accordingtooneauthority: 13 ͻ!ƒĻƩźĭğƓƭspendroughly37billionhourseachyearwaitinginline.Thedominantcostof waitingisanemotionalone:stress,boredom,thatnaggingsensationthatƚƓĻ͸ƭlifeisslipping away.Thelastthingwewanttodowithourdwindlingleisuretimeissquanderitinstasis.ͼ AlexStoneͻŷǤWaitingisƚƩƷǒƩĻͼNewYorkTimesSundayReviewOpinionPage,18August 2012. Informalinterviewswithusersshowthattheyconsiderawaitof15minutesorlessreasonable.This ispredicateduponthescheduleofsuchwaitsbeinghighlypredictablesothatuserscanstructure theirarrivalssoastoavoidmostclosuresaltogether. Asmentionedearlier,vesselsloiteringandtryingtopositionthemselvesforwhenthebridgeopens unnecessarilywastefuel,haveincreasedairemissionsduetotheadditionfuelburnandtypically lowenginespeed,andrungreaterriskofcollision,groundingandbeingsetuponthebridgeby strongcurrents. PredictabilityandClarity Safeandenjoyablewaterwayuserequirestimeandpreparation.Numerousitemsofequipment, someofwhichistimeconsumingtoprepareandrequiresspecialtransport,isofteninvolved.Itis alsooftenagroupactivity,soschedulesofmultiplepeoplemustbecoordinated,sometimesweeks inadvance. Minimizingthenegativeimpactofrailbridgeclosuresonwaterwayuserequiresthatusershavea longtermpredictablescheduleofwhenthewaterwaywillbeopen.Thiscertaintywillmanage expectations,andallowuserstoadjusttheiractivitiesandschedulesaccordingly. Itisalsoimportantthatschedulesbeclear,easilyunderstoodandrecalledfrommemory.For example:ͻŷĻbridgewillopenonthehourandhalfhour,andstayopenfor20ƒźƓǒƷĻƭ͵ͼ WepreferthatthescheduleforthewaterwaybeingopenispublishedintheFederalRegisteraspart oftherulemaking.Lesspreferred,butacceptable,wouldbethattherulemakingprovideforthe scheduletobepublishedatleast90daysinadvanceandthatallschedulesremainunchangedforat least90days. 14 Dana Goward is the Proprietor at Maritime Governance, LLC, a consultancy offering advice and counsel on a wide variety of maritime navigation, search and rescue, maritime domain awareness, and governance issues. Capt. Goward has more than 40 years of experience in the maritime industry; he is also a bridge expert. He retired in 2013 from the U.S. federal Senior Executive Service as the nation’s maritime navigation authority, with 12 business lines budgeted at over $1.3B/yr. He has represented the US at IMO, IALA, the UN anti-piracy working group, and other international forums. A licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot, he commanded the US Coast Guard’s air station in New Orleans and served as the service’s first Chief, Office of Board Forces, before retiring as a Captain. He is also President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, Chairman of the Board for the Association for Rescue at Sea, and is a member of the govering council for the Institute of Navigation. BridgeAdministrationSpecific:Capt.Gowardwasresponsibleforpermittingandregulationofover 18,000bridgesoverthenavigablewatersoftheUnitedStatesandanationwidestaffof45.The portfolioincluded$225Binbridgeconstructionprojectsrequestingpermits. HealsoservedasDeptofHomelandSecurityrepresentativetoWhiteIƚǒƭĻ͸ƭͻtƩĻƭźķĻƓƷ͸ƭSteering CommitteeonFederalInfrastructurePermittingandReviewProcessLƒƦƩƚǝĻƒĻƓƷͲͼaDeputySecretarylevel groupcreatedbypresidentialexecutiveorder.Negotiatedagreementsbetweencompetinginterestsand authoritiesonhighlycharged,nationallysignificant,$1.3Bto$3.4Bbridgeconstructionandmodification projectspubliclytrackedbyWhiteHouse. 15