Brightline must fix bottleneck at 100-year-old St. Lucie bridge | Opinion
These opinions are those of the writers and not necessarily those of The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board.
We can thank Walter Kitching, who gave Henry Flagler $200 and all the land he required to build the FEC Railway bridge over the St. Lucie River, in return for a railroad dock and depot, for today’s dilemma with Brightline. Built in 1924, the original trestle has a vertical clearance of seven feet and a horizontal clearance of 50 feet. Those dimensions are adequate for a dugout canoe but not for today’s watercraft and high volume of marine traffic.
All Aboard Florida/Brightline started this project in 2012 with proposed routes from Miami to West Palm Beach. Phase 2 was more ambitious. It started in 2019 with proposed routes from West Palm Beach to Orlando and eventually Tampa.
More: Coast Guard bridge ruling in Stuart throws monkey wrench into Brightline's Orlando plans
Everyone at FEC Railway, Brightline and our federal government has had plenty of time to address and resolve the obvious bottleneck with this Miami-to-Orlando vision, which is the St. Lucie railroad bridge. It’s too narrow and too low to allow for safe marine operation. Not to mention, a 100-mph train running over a 100- year old bridge should keep [U.S. Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg up at night.
It's my understanding that, in 1999, the Martin County Commission agreed to seek federal funding to replace the almost 100 year old railroad bridge. The current Brightline strategy seems to be build everything and then Stuart will be in no position to stop a moving train. It’s clear to me that any monies to replace this bridge should come from FEC Railway, Brightline and the federal government. Martin County residents shouldn't have to pay a penny. They not only don’t want Brightline but won’t have the benefit of having a Brightline depot in Stuart.
It's really very simple: Build a bigger bridge that can accommodate most of the marine traffic 24 hours a day.
Abby Diamond lives in Jupiter.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Brightline must fix Martin County bridge bottleneck
