Progress is being made on construction of the new $122 million U.S. 1 bridge over the Loxahatchee River and Intracoastal. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2026, but officials say the entire bridge will open for drivers in Spring 2025.

 

As the project has reached the half-way mark, all construction activity is out of the water now, and a crew of more than 100 members is working from 7:00am – 8:00pm daily.

 

The previous bridge, which was built in 1958, was demolished as construction commenced March 13, 2023.

 

The new bridge will have two 11-foot vehicle lanes in each direction with 8-foot sidewalks and 7-foot bike lanes on both sides, compared to a 2-foot shoulder without a sidewalk.

 

While the new bridge is designed to be safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, it also is meant to be safer for boaters. The new bridge will rise to 42 feet – almost doubled from its original 25 feet – allowing for 44% less bridge openings to ease traffic congestion on U.S. 1.  At its completion, the bridge will also lengthen the channel near the bridge from 90 feet to 120 feet.

 

It’s been no secret about the incentives construction workers have been given. The company doing the work (Johnson Bros) will receive an additional $3.5 million if they open the single lanes in each direction by August 2, 2024. This will decrease by $35,000 every day until November 9, 2024 when the bonus zeroes out. The Florida contractor was granted nine additional days to their incentive schedule with weather impact considerations.

 

If you have any questions about the bridge construction, community meetings or detour routes, I’m happy to provide you with the local knowledge and information.