Rating:
2 votes

Boot Key Harbor Bridge

Monroe County, Florida

Photos 

Boot Key Harbor Bridge

Open for traffic

Photo taken by Douglas Butler in April 2013

Enlarge

BH Photo #285099

Map 

Street View 

Facts 

Overview
Bascule bridge over Boot Key Harbor on CR 931 in Marathon
Location
Monroe County, Florida
Status
Fixed spans remain intact, bascule leaf removed in 2010
History
Built 1960; Closed 2007; Bascule (connecting) leaf removed 2010
Design
Bascule
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 79.1 ft.
Total length: 943.3 ft.
Deck width: 25.9 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 21.6 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+24.70333, -81.10500   (decimal degrees)
24°42'12" N, 81°06'18" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/489379/2732102 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Marathon
Average daily traffic (as of 2005)
343
Inventory numbers
FDOT 904490 (Florida Dept. of Transportation bridge number)
BH 12446 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of February 2009)
Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 22.2 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Bascule (1,076)
Built 1960 (334)
Built during 1960s (2,041)
Florida (669)
Have street view (27,199)
Lost (25,527)
Lost 2010 (476)
 Lost during 2010s (3,388)
Monroe County, Florida (44)
Movable (3,021)
Navigable waterway (2,164)
Owned by city (5,574)
Span length 75-100 feet (6,472)
Total length 500-1000 feet (2,891)

Update Log 

  • June 11, 2020: Updated by Mike Kerkau: Status
  • September 10, 2017: New Street View added by Dana and Kay Klein
  • September 1, 2015: New photo from Luke
  • June 9, 2014: New photos from Douglas Butler
  • April 19, 2010: New Street View added by Nathan Holth

Sources 

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Comments 

Boot Key Harbor Bridge
Posted June 11, 2020, by Mike Kerkau (mjkerkau [at] gmail [dot] com)

I've updated the status to "lost"/"removed but not replaced" (in database classification terms), since while the rest of it remains intact, what remains effectively functions as glorified piers on opposite sides.

A quick check of when exactly the bascule leaf was removed revealed that that was done on October 26, 2010.

Boot Key Harbor Bridge
Posted June 11, 2020, by Leo Page (RLPage4 [at] outlook [dot] com)

The bridge is definitely out of service, cutting off Boot Key from Marathon Key.

Boot Key Harbor Bridge
Posted August 23, 2017, by Nathan Delaplaine (ndelaplaine [at] gmail [dot] com)

This bridge no longer operates, but the bascule span is gone.

Boot Key Harbor Bridge
Posted June 3, 2015, by Conchscooter (conchscooter [at] gmail [dot] com)

The Boot Key bridge has been permanently closed after the state declared it unsafe and decided it wasn't worth millions to render it safe.

Like so many open spaces in the Keys Boot Key was originally slated for development, thus the apparent "platting" of streets. However to take a walk on the island (which I haven't done since the bridge closed) you find mangrove scrub land and dumped garbage along the road.

There is/was a radio station on the island 1600 am, as I recall and they had to commute by boat. Whether or not they've moved the radio station I haven't heard but the bridge is very much closed.

this picture from my blog Key West Diary

Boot Key Harbor Bridge
Posted February 20, 2014, by K. A. Erickson

From what I been able to uncover is that the State of Florida found the bridge to be deficient during an inspection back in 2007. The City of Marathon which owned the bridge immediately closed it.

The city figured it would be easier and cheaper to buy out any property owners that where upset by the cutoff of access than to actually make repairs to the bridge. Most took the money offered but one decided to file a lawsuit. That owner had a radio antenna on the south west, a notable square section.

http://keysnews.com/node/17348

After two years there was a settlement.

http://keysnews.com/node/34872

The bascule span that was previously locked in the upright position was soon removed. The now inaccessible properties on Boot Key bought out by the city are being transferred to a type of nature conservatory group.

http://conchscooter.blogspot.com/2009/04/boot-key-bridge.htm...

Boot Key Harbor Bridge
Posted February 20, 2014, by Victor (vlbrunton [at] juno [dot] com)

Does anybody read these comments?

Very mysterious, both the bridge and Vaca Key. Here, and in Google Earth, there are "street views" of traffic crossing this bridge. But all aerial views suggest the draw span is missing. But that is not all.

It also appears that 931 is the only vehicular access to Vaca Key. And all aerial views show no traffic at all on the island.

Yet the island appears to have been platted with streets and utilities. But there are no buildings or cars on any of those streets.

What happened?