LTC 087-2020 EXTENDED WESTBOUND SINGLE LANE CLOSURE FOR BRIDGE PAINTING ON THE MACARTHUR CAUSEWAY EAST BRIDGEM IA M I BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
087-2020
NO. LTC# LETT ER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members oft
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Mana@@A u<
DATE: February 13, 2020
SUBJECT : EXTENDED WESTBOUND SINGLE LANE CLOSURE FOR BRIDGE PAINTING ON
THE MACARTHUR CAUSEWAY EAST BRIDGE
The purpose of this Letter to Commission (L TC) is to inform you of a recent request made by the
Florida Department of Transportation (FOOT) to extend the duration of the westbound lane
closure for the SRA 1 A/MacArthur Causeway East Bridge Rehabilitation project.
The bridge rehabilitation project has continued to progress and is anticipated to be completed in
July 2020. While most of the work is occurring on the underdeck of the bridge, thus not affecting
traffic, FOOT has reached out to the City regarding an upcoming activity which will require the
extended closure of the outside westbound lane on the MacArthur Causeway. Currently, the
contractor is in the process of painting steel bridge spans and performing joint repairs. Given
some unforeseen damage that was encountered through the course of the project which extended
the project completion date, the contractor has requested to work extended hours to expedite the
painting of the bridge spans. FOOT supports the contractor's request as a means to mitigate the
additional costs claimed by the contractor for demobilizing and remobilizing as a result of special
event moratoriums in the City.
FOOT is requesting the closure of a continuous single westbound lane from Sunday to Friday
from 10:00 PM to 4:00 PM (18 hours of continuous work) for six weeks beginning on Sunday,
February 16, 2020. The City has discussed with FOOT the possibility of the contractor
demobilizing and opening the lane each morning peak period (7 AM to 1 0AM). This would require
the contractor to demobilize and re-mobilize twice during the span of the proposed 18-hour
workday. FOOT staff expressed concerns because the machinery required to perform the paint
work will require significant amount of time to demobilize, thus significantly reducing the
contractor's effective working hours each day and lengthening the overall project duration. FOOT
staff have also cited that westbound morning peak hour traffic was not significantly impacted
during the prior extended closure of a single westbound lane during the deck construction.
As a compromise, the City has agreed to grant FOOT conditional approval of the extended lane
closure depending on the impact to traffic during the morning peak period. If traffic on westbound
MacArthur Causeway or Alton Road is significantly affected by the lane closure, the City will notify
FOOT, and FOOT has agreed to direct the contractor to re-open the lane for the morning peak.
The City's traffic monitoring and management consultant will be monitoring traffic conditions on
the MacArthur Causeway and Alton Road to assess the impact of the proposed closure. In
addition, a traffic text alert will be issued to inform residents and visitors of the work.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
as.Eps±z. - JLM/JRG/JFD/WRP
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