Anna Maria Island bridge will close from early morning, Monday, September 29th, to allow planned repairs.
The closure is for 45 days, but may be shorter if the work progresses ahead of schedule, or longer if there are delays.
Traffic to and from the island will be detoured to the Cortez bridge to the south. Increased traffic flows at the Bradenton Beach end of Cortez Bridge will be accommodated by a lengthened turn lane.
Anna Maria Island beaches felt the effects of Hurricane Ike this week with several days of high surf and high water.
Every day this past week brought a good swell and copious waves as Ike passed 300 miles away to the south west of Anna Maria Island.
The storm emerged off the coast of Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico with Tropical Storm strength winds and soon intensified into a Category 2-3 hurricane heading northwest.
Gustav sent a few waves to Anna Maria Island, Sunday, and brought out a crowd of surfers and onlookers. A high tide and offshore wind meant the waves broke close to shore but some good rides were possible.
Some gusty showers were about the only impact Gustav had on Anna Maria Island but the rain and possibly a raised sea level from the effects of surge caused an above average high tide.
