Rush hour relief will now be permanent on the 17th Street Bridge in Fort Lauderdale.
Last summer, the city began testing a scaled-back schedule for the drawbridge; now it has been approved by the Coast Guard.
“It was a nightmare most days,” said Nancy Weber.
Weber lives near the bridge. She said it used to take at least 6 red light cycles to get out of her neighborhood onto 17th street from bridge backups.
“And when you see one or two tall yachts going out and you’ve got 300 cars sitting here because they want to go out into the ocean every half hour, it just makes a very, very difficult situation,” Weber said.
She said it’s gotten better during rush hour since the city launched the pilot program.
Starting in June 2025, the city stopped opening the bridge on the half hour during peak weekday travel times — 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
Now that the schedule is permanent.
“We were waiting on the coast guard to make a final determination — was the pilot successful, how was the feedback they got, how did they think the city handled it, and the coast guard made the determination it was incredibly successful and worked for everyone,” said Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Ben Sorensen.
Sorensen said the SE 17th Street corridor is one of the busiest in the city.
Even more so now with more cruise ships coming into Port Everglades and the convention center expansion.
“People turn on the red light, they don’t check whether it’s a bicycle or pedestrian,” said Richard Boulet, who rides a bike over the 17th Street Bridge frequently.
Cars often block the intersection, creating a mess when the bridge is up.
Some locals say that while a schedule might help with congestion, speed is another concern.
“I just can’t get over the speed that people go on this road, it’s unbelievable,” said Judy Bird, who lives near the bridge.
Weber said she is happy to see the change become permanent – but worries about a long-term solution as the city continues to grow.
“The developers need to know, no mas, no more, we cannot do this anymore,” Weber said.
Sorensen said the city is still evaluating how to reduce speed and improve traffic flow in the intersection on the west side of the bridge and along 17th Street as a whole.
