BARTOW, Fla. — After concerns about pedestrians and cyclists crossing busy State Road 60, construction has finally begun on a new bridge connecting both sides of the Fort Fraser Trail.
For years, crossing State Road 60 along the Fort Fraser Trail meant navigating heavy traffic.
Watch report from Rebecca Petit
“When I got on it and rode to go north, I got to Route 60 and there was no way to get across the street,” said Bartow City Commissioner Trish Pfeiffer.
An avid cyclist, Pfeiffer told Tampa Bay 28 reporter Rebecca Petit, she first pushed for a bridge on the Fort Fraser Trail back in 2010, after struggling to safely cross the busy highway herself.
“They wanted us to go down to the light, cross nine lanes of traffic, very busy intense traffic, come back to the trail and pick up. So I thought that was weird and that it needed to have a bridge for safety,” Pfeiffer said.
After more than a decade of advocacy, construction is underway on a new multi-use bridge designed to connect the north and south Fort Fraser Trail.
The nearly eight-mile trail is now part of the larger Florida Heartland Regional Trail Network stretching from Everglades City to North Lakeland.
“A lot of enthusiasts will want to come and ride all 200 miles or segments of it and so we look forward to that,” Pfeiffer said.
Road & Trail Bicycles, a family-owned shop along Fort Fraser Trail has seen the Bartow cycling community expand.
“The cycling community in the Bartow area is growing. It’s fantastic with casual cyclists and road cyclists,” said Amy Brown.
Beyond safety, Brown says the bridge could also give a boost to downtown Bartow businesses.
“We’re seeing an increase in people who want to ride to a point and either do a tour of the courthouse or maybe have lunch downtown. It opens up that door for them,” said Brown.
The $9.6 million Florida Department of Transportation project is expected to be completed by June 2027. Closing a long-standing gap in the Fort Fraser Trail system.
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