Attention, boaters: What to know about Jupiter river bridge closures over Memorial Day

Katherine Kokal, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
Visitors watch boats leave the Jupiter inlet on Tuesday December 3, 2019.
Visitors watch boats leave the Jupiter inlet on Tuesday December 3, 2019.

JUPITER — The Loxahatchee River train bridge in Jupiter will not allow boats to pass after 7 p.m. over Memorial Day weekend, cutting off overnight traffic between the Loxahatchee River, the Jupiter Inlet and Intracoastal Waterway.

More: Brightline train, FDOT roll out a $45 million plan to eliminate train-crossing deaths

The bridge will allow traffic only during daytime hours — 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. —  May 27 through May 30.

The closure will not affect vehicle traffic traveling on Alternate A1A.

During the closures, Brightline said it will be working on replacing the existing drawbridge, which was built in 1926, with a new bascule drawbridge that's more efficient and reliable.

More: Brightline offers low fares this weekend to celebrate its third anniversary

The train company is working on the second set of railroad tracks that will one day connect South Florida with Orlando International Airport. Brightline expansion of higher-speed trains between Miami and Orlando will be finished by the end of 2022. Passenger rail service should start in early 2023, the company has told The Palm Beach Post. 

For more than a month, the drawbridge has remained in the closed position nearly all day, only opening once in the morning and once in the evening for boat traffic.

Earlier this week, the bridge closed totally to boat traffic for three days.

The timeline has concerned town officials and boating enthusiasts, who have called the closures "a mess."

More: 'A mess:' Jupiter bridge work will impact holidays, leave just 2 daily openings for boats

"People on the west side of the bridge are pretty much going to be locked in to going to the Jupiter sandbar," council member Cameron May said at a February Town Council meeting.

A boat passes under the raised drawbridge on the railroad bridge over the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter lsat September The bridge is under reconstruction as a second track is added for Brightline service to Orlando.
A boat passes under the raised drawbridge on the railroad bridge over the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter lsat September The bridge is under reconstruction as a second track is added for Brightline service to Orlando.

Here's what to know about the bridge schedule:

Overnight closures: May 25-31

The navigation channel will be closed overnight from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. each day starting May 25.

It will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. during Memorial Day weekend, which falls May 27 through May 30.

The overnight closures end May 31.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering northern Palm Beach County at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jupiter boating: Bridge closed to boats near inlet, Loxahatchee river