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For the past couple of months, Windermere has been exploring options for a new pedestrian bridge to replace the existing one at South Lake Butler Boulevard and Dirt Main Street.

At a public forum in December 2020, Town Manager Robert Smith said the current red bridge that stretches over that canal poses several problems.

“The pedestrian bridge is not really conductive for two people to get by, two bikers to get by, two golf carts to get by, and it’s lower than the actual road bridge, as well, so it makes it harder for boats to navigate underneath,” Smith said during the forum.

Finishes: Painted or weathered steel

Edge treatments: Vertical pickets or mesh panels

Styles: Contech Keystone, Contech Gateway, Bridge Brothers Pratt, Bridge Brothers Bowstring

Staff on Jan. 26 hosted a Town Council workshop to discuss the options for a new bridge. It will be wider than the existing one, and it will be raised to the road bridge’s level.

There are three elements to the bridge design: finish, edge treatment and overall bridge style. Bridge finishes come in painted or weathered steel, while edge treatment choices were vertical pickets or mesh panels.

As for style, there are four options available. These are the arched Contech Keystone at $260,000; a rectangular-truss Contech Gateway for $280,000; a rectangular-truss Bridge Brothers Pratt at $200,000; and an arched Bridge Brothers Bowstring for $230,000. 

Following the initial December forum, town residents were asked to fill out a survey selecting their favorite design options. Mike Woodward, of Kimley-Horn, told council members during the Jan. 26 worksop the majority of responses favored of vertical pickets and a black-painted finish. He added there was a lot of support for both Bridge Brothers options.

“There still was a decent amount of votes for weathered steel,” Woodward said. “We talked a little about some of the weathered-steel conditions and got into how it could be messy. I think that was one of the considerations for why weathered steel didn’t move forward or wasn’t selected.

“The typical section we were recommending is 16 feet wide, and that would allow two pretty wide golf carts to pass each other,” he said. “I would be comfortable with anything really from 13 to 16 feet.”

Council Member Bob McKinley expressed concerns regarding issues with people climbing the current bridge and jumping into the canal, as well as the proposed 16-foot width. He said the Bridge Brothers Pratt design looks set up for climbing and jumping.

“As far as looking at the design, I like the bowstring much better as long as we can go with the black paint, but I do question the overall width,” he said. “That just seems excessive to me.”

Later in the workshop, Woodward said he thought 14 feet in this area would be appropriate.

“It would give you plenty of width for the wide (golf carts), and it’d be cheaper than 16 feet,” Woodward said. “I’d definitely have no problems reducing the width.”

Smith said the town can restrict and prohibit climbing and jumping off the bridge as much as possible, but it’s likely that some people would do it, anyway.

“We’ll try to prohibit that as much as possible — either through signage or maybe some fencing or something else — but now we’re just trying to go for look and feel,” Smith said.

Town engineer John Fitzgibbon said the Bridge Brothers Bowstring design reminded him of an old train trestle.

“Going back to the roots of our town, it was a train trestle and a train line, so it kind of gives you that feeling of an old train trestle, which is kind of cool,” Fitzgibbon said. “The only thing I would say on finish is obviously, if you guys like the rust finish, it’s almost zero maintenance versus any time you do a painted finish — you’re going to have UV and everything else.”

At the end of the workshop, most Town Council members preferred the Bridge Brothers Bowstring design with a painted finish and vertical pickets. Bridge design will be discussed at the Feb. 9 Town Council meeting. A construction schedule is to be determined based on project funding.

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Danielle Hendrix was an associate editor for the West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer and OrangeObserver.com.

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