With all the nationwide environmental concerns, why is this bridge being built in an environmentally sensitive area and what precautions are being taken to protect the environment?
• The proposed river crossing has been studied for several years and has been compared to other crossings along the Manatee River. During this analysis and evaluation process, multiple environmental resource agencies such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) have been involved. Each of these agencies has provided input and comments which have been included in the permitting process for evaluation. The current project is proposing the recommended alternative that was included in the original Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS). This recommended alternative received clearance letters from all of the appropriate environmental resource agencies. In some cases the resource agencies requested specific mitigative measures be inlcuded to reduce long term impacts from the proposed project. Mana
