Big changes are coming to the road between Cortez and Anna Maria Island. FDOT is beginning a $123 million replacement of the nearly 70-year-old Cortez drawbridge, swapping the mechanical lift for a fixed span that rises 65 feet above the water. That means boats of nearly any size clear underneath without stopping traffic, and the drawbridge openings that have backed up Cortez Road for decades become a thing of the past. The new design also includes wider shoulders, a welcome upgrade for the pedestrians and bicyclists who currently share a tight walkway with the traffic.
The project unfolds over four years. Traffic shifts onto the new bridge by late 2026, and demolition of the old span is scheduled for 2028. For anyone who has spent a peak-season afternoon stuck in a line that stretched for miles and lasted up to 90 minutes, the long-term payoff is obvious. Local businesses in Cortez and on the island are hopeful about the economic boost that comes with reliable access, even as they brace for years of construction staging and lane shifts. If you have a regular route through that corridor, build a little extra time into your plans.
At the same time, this is a farewell. The drawbridge has connected the historic fishing village of Cortez to Anna Maria Island since the 1950s, and for plenty of longtime residents it is more than infrastructure. It is the boats passing through, the sound of the lift, a piece of Old Florida that will not exist in the same way again. One sentiment we keep hearing sums it up well: love Old Florida and want to keep it, but the infrastructure has to be updated too. Both feelings fit in the same conversation, and around here, they usually do. What is your favorite memory of the old Cortez bridge?
