"They drive full cement mixers over it all the time, so it's not unsafe," Dave Baber told Your Observer this month. "And it acts as a traffic calming because it's one lane wide."
Baber is the immediate past president of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation. He ran the Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources for 13 years and helped get the Blackburn Point Swing Bridge onto the county's historic register. His point is the center of the whole debate. In its study, Sarasota County lists the bridge's single lane as a problem. Preservationists and island residents call that same lane the reason north Casey Key Road stays as slow as it is. The bridge turns 100 this year, and the county's decision will settle how wide the north entrance to Casey Key is for the next century.
One Lane Since the Land Boom
The bridge was built in 1925 and 1926. Its type is a Warren pony truss swing span, and it carries Blackburn Point Road over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Osprey, linking U.S. 41 to north Casey Key. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the Sarasota County Register of Historic Places. The Venice Gondolier reports that it is nicknamed the "Flying Bridge," and that the 1920s county commission put it ahead of a new administration building on its list of priorities.
The Alliance calls it the last bridge still standing from the building push of the newly formed Sarasota County during the land boom, according to The Sarasota News Leader. The bridge was originally opened by hand. Its 2001 National Register nomination says a person walked around the circular center pivot pushing a lever to swing the span. The swing drive was electrified in the early 1970s. The nomination describes a tender who works the warning lights, bell and barriers before running the electrical controls.
How the Span Opens for Boats Today
The federal drawbridge rule for Blackburn Point, 33 CFR 117.287, sets two schedules:
- Most of the time: the draw opens on signal.
- Nonholiday weekdays, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.: it needs to open only on the hour, at 20 minutes past and at 40 minutes past.
With the span closed, a boat has 9.3 feet of vertical clearance.
The County's Case, Measured Against Today's Standards
Sarasota County is running a Project Development & Environment study, the first of two phases. Phase two is design work for whichever option is chosen. On its project site, blackburnbridgeproject.com, the county calls the bridge "functionally obsolete" given its age and condition. Most of that case comes down to measurements.
| Feature | Blackburn Point today | Coast Guard recommendation for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal clearance | 51 feet | 90 feet minimum |
| Vertical clearance | 9.3 feet | 21 feet minimum |
| Travel lanes | One | Not covered by the Coast Guard figures |
The county also points to railings that don't meet current safety standards, no shoulders or sidewalks for people walking and biking, and a lane width below the standard for an evacuation route. The Gondolier adds that county officials have cited structural, mechanical and electrical problems.
The study covers three directions:
- No-Build: keep the existing single-lane bridge and make the repairs needed to keep it working and structurally sound. The county describes this as a required benchmark under federal environmental review, "not just a placeholder."
- A new swing span: one lane or two, turning on a pivot like the current bridge.
- A single-leaf bascule: a drawbridge that lifts, the most common movable bridge on Florida's waterways. The Albee Road bridge, which Nokomis drivers cross to reach Nokomis Beach, is a bascule, and so is Stickney Point.
The Venice Gondolier reports that the county agreed in 2025 to spend $2.2 million on consultants to design replacement options. County estimates for a new bridge run from $37 million to $57 million. The county's capital plan for fiscal 2027 through 2031 shows $3.7 million appropriated so far for the "Blackburn Point Road Movable Bridge," with no new money added through fiscal 2031, according to the News Leader.
The Case for Keeping the Lane
The preservation side starts from the bridge's record. Baber told Your Observer that the last major work was in 1995, when the span stayed swung open for several weeks, and that it has rated in fair condition for roughly three decades since. He says guardrails can be attached directly to the historic structure to protect pedestrians. The Alliance asked Bach Ornamental & Structural Steel, a Michigan company that restores bridges, to review the county's records. Without visiting the site, the company concluded that "rehabilitation is the fiscally conservative option, by a wide margin." Local preservationist Tommye Whittaker told the Venice Gondolier the bridge could be refurbished for less than a fourth of what a new one would cost.
Baber doesn't see a middle path, such as keeping the old bridge as a landmark next to a new one. "It's either, you're going to save the bridge, you're not going to save the bridge," he told Your Observer. He was part of a group that studied moving the bridge in 1999, and he said "there was no place to take it to."
The Alliance put the bridge on its 2025 Six to Save list of endangered historic places. By late September it had nearly 2,000 signatures on Change.org and handwritten petitions. It has also gone door-to-door on north Casey Key.
The traffic-calming argument came up again at the county's Sept. 23 budget hearing. The Sarasota News Leader reports that every speaker during the capital-plan portion opposed demolition. Curtis Albee Vannah of Nokomis, great-nephew of Dr. Albee, told commissioners the bridge has "passed safety inspections. It's a natural speed barrier on Blackburn Point Road." Laura Roush, who lives on Casey Key Road, raised a related concern. She said a new bridge could send more cars down a narrow road that has no bike lane and no sidewalks, and she asked to see traffic studies.
Both sides are talking about the same people. The county wants room for the cyclists and pedestrians who now share one lane with cars. The bridge's defenders say a wider crossing would mean more traffic waiting for those same people on Casey Key Road beyond it.
What Replacement Would Mean for Blackburn Point Park
The bridge sits in the middle of one of the area's busiest small waterfront spots. Blackburn Point Park, at 800 and 421 Blackburn Point Road, is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It has motorized and nonmotorized launches, a canoe and kayak launch, a fishing pier, grills, a picnic shelter, restrooms, trails and rowing facilities. Visit Sarasota's paddling guide describes it as a quiet launch with little boat traffic.
Any replacement would be built on the current alignment, so the bridge would stay in the same place. To keep cars moving during construction, the county says it would need a temporary bridge just north of the existing one, and that would mean "temporary impacts to Blackburn Point Park." The No-Build option avoids the temporary bridge.
Two restaurants are also on Blackburn Point Road. Casey Key Fish House, a waterfront seafood grill with a tiki bar, is at 801 Blackburn Point Road and lists seasonal hours starting at 11:30 a.m. Deep Lagoon's Casey Key location is at 482 Blackburn Point Road.
December Is the Next Date on the Calendar
In an Oct. 13 statement to The Sarasota News Leader, county spokesperson Emily Blaine said no final decision had been made. The topic is "tentatively scheduled to come before the Sarasota County Commission for discussion in December 2026." The county has held three public meetings on the study. The most recent, on June 11, 2026, drew about 100 people, most of whom favored preservation, according to Your Observer.
A December discussion won't settle everything. Because the bridge is a historic site, the Sarasota County Historic Preservation Board has to review it before the county can repair or replace it, the Venice Gondolier reports. That board meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. County officials have said that if a new bridge is chosen, the old one's significance would be "acknowledged," with the details still being worked out. Commission agendas are posted on the county's agenda portal, and the study documents, alternatives and FAQ are on blackburnbridgeproject.com.
If you own a home on Casey Key or in Nokomis and want to talk through how a project like this fits into your plans, Joe and Rita at The Suarez Group are glad to sit down with you and share what they're seeing on the island. When you're ready, start with our free home valuation.
