History
Due to the reputation of being a pet project of former Florida House Speaker Bolley "Bo" Johnson, D-Milton, who later went to federal prison for tax evasion, the bridge project was nicknamed "Bo's Bridge". It was completed in 1999 and in 2000, the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority asked for an $500,000 loan from the state despite having to delay paying back previous multi million dollar loans from the state. The loan was later denied in 2001.
In 1996, URS Greiner Woodward Clyde, a consulting firm, made traffic counts based on figures that the Garcon Point Bridge would lead to Destin, a popular beach resort instead of the subdivisions that it actually connects. This resulted in 3500 vehicles a day crossing the bridge in 2000, far from the 7500 that URS projected. In 2000, Arthur Goldberg, the URS vice president who wrote the estimates for the Garcon Point Bridge, told the St. Petersburg Times, "We now know that . I don't think the Garcon Point Bridge will ever get back to the forecast we made for it in 1996."
Odebrecht-Metric, the construction company who built the bridge, illegally dumped construction waste during the project, resulting in a $4 million fine for the company for violating the federal Clean Water Act. Three supervisors plead guilty and paid $1,000 in fines and served a probation.
Read more about this topic: Garcon Point Bridge
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