Brian Mathe

This is not a good idea. There are numerous boat owners on both sides of the bridge that still require this bridge to be opened to pass through. Bridge construction has only been complete for a few weeks. The equipment used by the construction company has made transiting this area a tricky situation for the past couple of years, and as a result, owners of larger vessels have been avoiding the area. The construction company has also been responsible for conducting all of the openings until recently. The study must not have taken the contractor's openings into account. The documents states that less than one opening per month has been requested. This can not be true. We have personally requested 10-15 openings since June of this year. I know of many other sailboats and larger powerboats that have been through the bridge in the same time frame. The use of recreational boats declines sharply in the winter months. This trial period is at a time when even the pontoon bridge didn't see many openings. This test should be conducted in the summer months. A 2-hour notice may work well during the months of November-March. It may even work well during weekdays of the summer months, but a bridge tender should be there for weekends.