For nearly 90 years, Treasure Island has owned and maintained a causeway used by motorists from across Pinellas County. The city once charged those drivers a toll. Today, local taxpayers shoulder the cost.
Now, Treasure Island is negotiating a deal with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) that could shift one of its biggest maintenance expenses to the state. FDOT would take ownership of the causeway’s movable drawbridge, while the city would assume responsibility for approximately 2.3 miles of Gulf Boulevard, part of State Road 699.
The proposal could end decades of financial responsibility for a bridge that serves far more than Treasure Island’s residents. But it also raises questions about how much the exchange would actually save and what would happen to the property taxes residents already pay toward maintaining the crossing…