STUART, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard plans to issue revised rules governing the Florida East Coast Railway drawbridge over the St. Lucie River in Stuart on Friday, Aug. 11, WQCS Radio reports — but details on those revisions are not yet public.
Operating rules for the bridge are a key concern for Brightline as it prepares to launch service between South Florida and Orlando at a still-to-be-determined date.
The new rules will take the form of an “updated temporary deviation” of the schedule, and will be in effect from Aug. 15 at 12:01 a.m. until Dec. 17 at 11:59 p.m. They will replace the current temporary deviation, which took effect June 21 and requires the bridge to be opened at 15 and 45 past each hour, for up to 15 minutes, to allow all boat traffic to pass. That plan drew a strong protest from Brightline and FEC over the potential impact on rail traffic, and also raised concerns that freight trains could block grade crossings in downtown Stuart for extended periods [see “Coast Guard to impose twice-hourly bridge openings …,” Trains News Wire, June 9, 2023].
The temporary deviation is intended to test the bridge operating plan. The new plan is slated to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, after which a 60-day comment period will begin.
WQCS quotes Rear Adm. Douglas M. Schofield, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District, as saying, “We are engaged with the many stakeholders who have a vested interest in the final rulemaking for a bridge operating schedule, which includes the boating public, elected officials who represent the constituents in the communities most likely to be impacted, as well as Brightline and Florida East Coast Railway, amongst others.”
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