Getting across U.S. 41 a challenge for Port Manatee

PALMETTO – The devil's in the details.

That's the lesson at Port Manatee, whose officials trumpet its location as the nearest Florida port to the Panama Canal and celebrate the fact that it's not surrounded by development, as many ports are in Florida.

Recently approved Tax Increment Financing means that tax revenue that is a result of higher property values will go into improving the port or its financial status, and there's a lot of room for development in the Port Encouragement Zone.

Nirvana, right? Well, maybe.

Trucks from Port Manatee wishing to get into the Encouragement Zone have to cross U.S. 41, and that means leaving the port security area and then re-entering the security area; contending with traffic on U.S. 41; and dealing with weight restrictions that mean loads have to be broken down into smaller loads, causing higher costs and inefficiency at the port. In an era when decisions are based on dollars, even a small increase can cause a cargo ship to go elsewhere.

Port Manatee executive director David McDonald has said that something needs to be done to make it easier to cross U.S. 41. Ideas explored at last Thursday's Port Authority meeting included flyovers for trucks at various sites, at-grade crossings for trucks with U.S. 41 getting elevated, the possibility of lowering the speed limit on U.S. 41 and more.

Either way, the solution will not be cheap, with cost estimates that could hit $50 million.

Making the connection

Jack Schnettler of the engineering firm PBS&J said that the idea is to connect Port Manatee with the Encouragement Zone parcels to the east across U.S. 41 so that overweight trucks can go across to expedite cargo movements and avoid conflicts with public traffic.

”By doing this, we would have a significant competitive advantage that complements and leverages the policy actions that have been taken so far to facilitate activity and development in the Encouragement Zone,“ he said.

That doesn't mean it will be easy.

”Some of the fruit containers come in too heavy to move on public roads, so they have to be broken down and the loads split up,“ Schnettler said.

Other cargoes crossing U.S. 41 include salt, minerals and aggregate products and various oversized project cargoes.

An overpass could move those cargoes quicker, and it could also be used by street-legal loads to avoid U.S. 41 conflicts.

The ports of Palm Beach and Jacksonville are using overpasses to avoid local traffic, he said, and there are corridor connection alternatives to the south and northeast.

The available options are:

1. Take a connector over U.S. 41 in an east-west direction. It can either cross the CSX tracks at grade at some locations, then do a bridge over U.S. 41, or do a bridge over the tracks and the road.

2. Carry U.S. 41 on a viaduct over the connection between the port and the Encouragement Zone.

3. All of it has to be coordinated with the work on the Port Connector.

Possible alignments could be Buckeye Road, Piney Point Road or Harlee Road.

Strategies for crossing the road

For board member Carol Whitmore, the best approach would be to keep the trucks on the ground to keep the cost of building the overpass low, thus having U.S. 41 lifted over the roadway.

”We have to do this, even probably before the port connector. If we're going to have everything tied into the EZ zone, and hopefully warehousing and storage on the other side of the road, this is going to be something that we're going to have to try to figure out how to fund, which is going to be very expensive,“ she said. ”In order for us to be the port that we want to be, we're going to have to have some connectivity to the other side.“

Donna Hayes said that cost is a big issue. ”I support the flyover. I see the need for a flyover,“ she said. ”It's just that I was looking at the least expensive flyover.“

Schnettler cautioned, though, that costs haven't been looked at yet. Right now, they're just looking at designs.

Chairman Ron Getman said they would have to rebuild the just-finished South Dock Street and its security facility, and with an east-west configuration they'd be limited by the weight capacity of the flyover.

”With north-south, you're not restricted by weight and it can be a short ramp,“ he said. ”You'd also need an access road to the side.“

Member Joe McClash said he didn't support the idea of an east-west overpass, either.

”It gets way too complicated, and I don't think it meets the original intent,“ he said. ”All we're talking about is taking freight from one side of the port to the other side that is on the east side of 41.“

Member Larry Bustle asked about the prospect of an at-grade solution. ”The simpler the fix, the better,“ he said.

A reinforced intersection, a DOT permit to cross it and a special signal system to be used as needed could do the job at a much lower cost, Bustle said.

Schnettler said they're focusing on solutions for the long term, though.

But for now, Whitmore asked, why not just use a stoplight tripped by a truck?

”Instead of waiting all these years, if we really want to get something right, if not that, maybe temporarily until you do what you want to do,“ she said.

McDonald, the port's executive director, said a worksession will be held early next year.