STUART, Fla. — A group of marine businesses in Martin County, Fla., are suing to block a request to alter operating plans for a drawbridge over the St. Lucie River to allow for operation of Brightline passenger trains between Orlando and Miami.
The TC Palm newspaper reports the 13 businesses filed suit Friday in federal court in Philadelphia against the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Brightline route owner Florida East Coast Railway. At issue is Brightline’s request to keep the drawbridge closed up to 45 minutes every hour between 5 a.m. and 9:45 p.m. to allow up to 32 passenger trains to pass, along with up to 24 freight trains that use the route daily.
The suit seeks to have the drawbridge plan declared an unlawful obstruction of a navigable waterway, since boats with more than 6 feet of vertical clearance will be unable to pass. Many of the plaintiffs in the suit build, sell, or repair large boats and fear the loss of millions of dollars in business.
The lawsuit comes at the same time as, but is not related to, the start of full closure of the bridge. That closure begins today (May 1) and is scheduled to be completed by May 22 to accommodate a 24-hour-a-day rehabilitation project. The bridge will remain in the down position as its mechanical, electrical, and control components are replaced [see “FEC begins drawbridge rehabilitation …,” Trains News Wire, April 19, 2023].
One of the plaintiffs in the suit told the newspaper U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fort Pierce) and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) support the lawsuit. Mast has fought the Brightline expansion at every opportunity, most recently seeking to halt FRA preparations for the service while the National Transportation Safety Board investigated a fatal grade crossing accident [see “Brightline report to bondholders sets goal of Orlando service …,” News Wire, Feb. 15, 2023].
Note the story says 32 passenger trains and 24 freight trains pass over the bridge daily so the majority of time it should stay closed. Otherwise it will just keep going up and down.
Note where the suit was filed. The Feds have signed off on this. This sort of suit (though in this case within Florida) is an example of why on a national basis, the I.C.C. and the STB were created to prohibit this type of local interference in interstate commerce.
This is the 21st century. Is there really that much water-borne traffic to be affected?
Most of the boats they’re talking about are yachts and large private water craft, not for ocean/river going traffic…so they can take their lawsuit and pound sand as far as I’m concerned. Those types of customers can afford to wait around for a bridge to open…otherwise they wouldn’t own those type of craft.
I hate to suggest a redesign this late in the project, but perhaps Brightline should go around the St. Lucie River bridge. The train could switch from the FEC line to the South Florida Rail Corridor at 27th Street in West Palm Beach. It could take that track parallel to Highway 710 until the K Branch at Highway 709. From there it could head back east, returning to the FEC line just south of Fort Pierce.
Of course this would involve a lot of negotiations and constructions, but it would avoid Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and Jensen Beach. It’s clear the residents and business owners in this area don’t support passenger rail.
I can’t fault them for this since Brightline currently has no plans to have a station there. I can just wish them all the best and look forward to the day Brightline opens a station near my home in Brevard County.
They should’ve objected when the proposal was put forth way back when, before it was approved. This is like trying to get the horse back into the burning barn that isn’t burning…it’s too late.
Change is a four-letter word.
An on-site bridge operator and the countdown clock are a great idea, if the bridge actually opens when it says it will. I would agree, 45 minutes is a long time to wait, but it is cumulative, not consecutive 45 minutes, right?
For those who are unaware, Rep. Brian Mast was 100% for the Brightline service back when it was called All Aboard Florida. He sat through several public meetings about it and never said a word.
It wasn’t until there was a public protest in Ft Pierce at a local park did he realize his constituents were against it. He got booed when he tried to speak on its benefits. So he flip flopped and joined the protests and started the push back in the legislative bodies.
Ah, political hypocrisy at some of it’s finest.
Harrison, it may be hypocritical, but a congressman who listens that closely to his constituents is a real novelty in most places.
“At issue is Brightline’s request to keep the drawbridge closed up to 45 minutes every hour between 5 a.m. and 9:45 p.m.”
There is not that many boats that would be affected by this that should be able to wait, sounds more like a ploy by another Florida Legislator (I live here) to gum up the works without a solution.
What is the present protocol that Brightline proposes to alter?
Typically the bridge stays up until an actual train comes and it lowers for the train to pass. The agreement between the USCG and Brightline was based on data modeling that showed when the boats and how many that couldn’t meet the clearance were required to pass. Brightline had agreed to put in a large clock to notify boaters when the next bridge raising would be so if their boat couldn’t clear they could plan their passage appropriately. Also Brightline was going to raise the elevation of the bridge a small amount to accomodate a larger number of boaters. The USCG agreed to the change in plans. Brightline is even going to place a staffed bridge operator at the site.