The proposed bridge design slightly raises the clearance at each bridge. However, they will not accommodate larger or taller boats than they do now.
The proposed West Spring Lake bridge will have a Bottom of Bridge Elevation at the Mid-Channel at 12.3 feet, which means the bottom of the bridge will be 12.3 feet above the zero elevation (i.e., sea level) established by the US Geodetic Survey. Effectively the proposed Vertical Clearance from Mean High Water (MHW) will be 11.1 feet versus the existing Vertical Clearance from MHW, which is about 10.6 feet, an increase of about 0.5 feet or about 6 inches. The horizontal clearance at Mid-Channel between faces of bridge support will be 32'-6"
The proposed East Spring Lake bridge will have a Bottom of Bridge Elevation at the Mid-Channel at 12.5 feet, which means the bottom of the bridge will be 12.5 feet above the zero elevation established by the US Geodetic Survey. Effectively the proposed Vertical Clearance from Mean High Water (MHW) will be 11.2 feet versus the existing Vertical Clearance from MHW, which is about 10.5 feet, an increase of about 0.6 feet or about 7 inches. 'The horizontal clearance at Mid-Channel between the bridge supports will be 32'-6".
The proposed Sunrise Waterway Bridge will have a Bottom of Bridge Elevation at the Mid-Channel at 11.6 feet, which means the bottom of the bridge will be 11.6 feet above the zero elevation established by the US Geodetic Survey. Effectively the proposed Vertical Clearance from Mean High Water (MHW) will be 10.4 feet versus the existing Vertical Clearance from MHW, which is about 8.9 feet, an increase of about 1.5 feet or about 18 inches.'The horizontal clearance at Mid-Channel between the bridge supports will be 32'-6"