Mike Barrett’s letter (“Reject option of drawbridge,” Our Readers’ Views, Aug. 15) shows that he is unaware of the history of the Interstate Bridge Replacement planning. Greg Johnson’s original plan for the IBR did not include a lift bridge. This was because it is unnecessary and one of the aims of the IBR is to eliminate the traffic holdups caused by the current lift bridge.
The reason that there is now a lift bridge option in the plans is that in June 2022, Coast Guard Cmdr. B.J. Harris sent a letter to the IBR manager demanding that a lift bridge option be included in the plan. Meeting the Coast Guard’s demand meant that the IBR team had to rewrite the environmental impact statement, a major endeavor that has taken two years so far.
Mr. Johnson is blameless on the issue of the lift bridge option and Mr. Barrett’s letter criticizing Mr. Johnson is unfair.
