On the North Causeway, the Bridge Was Finished for Drivers First
On May 15, 2026, the drawbridge on the North Causeway stopped mattering to anyone in a car. Since then the new E.C. Summerlin Family Bridge has carried A1A over the Florida East Coast Railroad, Old Dixie Highway and the Intracoastal Waterway on a fixed span with no openings for boat traffic, according to WQCS.
More than five months later, that improvement still applies mostly to drivers. People who cross on foot, on a bike, in a boat, or with a trailer behind the truck are using a narrower and more restricted causeway than the finished project will give them. Late fall is when that begins to change, starting with the boat ramp on the island side.
The quickest way to read the North Causeway this fall is to compare what's open today with what the finished design promises. The current status below comes from the Florida Department of Transportation's Treasure Coast weekly traffic report for October 16–23. The finished design comes from WQCS's opening-week report.
| How you cross | Designed for | Status in late October |
|---|---|---|
| Driving | One 12-foot lane each way, no bridge openings | Open since May 15 |
| Walking | 8-foot sidewalk on the south side | Open, and every pedestrian is routed here |
| Biking | 7-foot buffered bike lanes on both sides of A1A | Closed |
| Walking or biking, north side | 12-foot shared-use path | Closed |
| Sightseeing or fishing below the west end | Observation deck beneath the bridge | Closed, no date announced |
| Boating the channel | 85 feet vertical, 125 feet horizontal | 40 feet horizontal during daytime work hours |
| Launching from the island | Rebuilt North Causeway Park ramp | Closed, reopening expected November 2026 |
Only the first two rows are working the way they were designed to.
The new span is a single lane each way, and it does not connect to County Road 605/Old Dixie Highway. Drivers on U.S. 1 reach Old Dixie through Juanita Avenue. Drivers coming from Old Dixie can get onto U.S. 1 in either direction at Juanita Avenue, or northbound only at Sunny Lane. The old traffic lights at A1A and Old Dixie are gone, replaced by a two-way stop at an intersection that FDOT shifted slightly south in April 2025.
The island side has had its own construction. FDOT scheduled one lane closed in each direction on A1A from east of the new bridge to Little Jim's Bridge, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, through Saturday, October 31, with flaggers on site. Eastbound and westbound A1A east of the park has also run about 25 feet north of its usual alignment since July 21, 2025, and FDOT expects that shift to last through October 2026.
So October was the last month of daytime flagging between the bridge and Little Jim's Bridge, as scheduled. That stretch is also where the next phase of park work happens.
Bike lanes on both sides and a wide shared-use path on the north side were among the main reasons to replace the old drawbridge. None of them are open yet. FDOT's October report says the A1A bike lanes and the north-side shared-use path "remain closed as construction activities continue," and pedestrians are detoured to the south-side sidewalk.
That means joggers, people walking dogs, people carrying fishing gear and anyone on a bike all use one 8-foot sidewalk on a bridge that, when finished, will give them roughly three times that much room across its two sides. The observation deck beneath the west end, on the mainland side, is also still closed, and FDOT hasn't given an opening date.
The finished project reaches past the bridge too. It includes a shared-use path along Old Dixie Highway connecting to the East Coast Greenway, a new access road under the bridge for businesses east of the railroad, and an extension of Juanita Avenue from U.S. 1 to Old Dixie, according to WQCS. FDOT's newest report puts the end of construction in late 2027.
On the water, the change came in two steps. The drawbridge operating rules were retired at 6 p.m. on August 8, 2026, and the new span permanently limits vertical clearance to 85 feet at mean high water. Taking down the old bascule bridge then started affecting the channel itself.
Crews are removing the bascule piers from the waterway with cofferdams. From September 23 through December 1, the channel is open to 40 feet of horizontal clearance between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day. Outside those hours, 85 feet is available. During work hours, boaters can get full channel passage by giving one hour's notice to the on-scene tug "MANDI" on VHF-FM channel 13. A temporary work trestle sits on the northeast side of the bridge, and barges are working right next to the channel and across it.
Compare those 40 feet with the 125 feet of horizontal clearance the finished bridge provides at the channel. Boats are getting about a third of the design width during the hours most people would choose to head out. FDOT lists the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami Waterways Division at 305-535-4317 for waterway questions.
North Causeway Park, at 500 N. Causeway on North Hutchinson Island, has been closed for a full rebuild. St. Lucie County's parks closures page lists the expected reopening as November 2026 without a specific day. The project is substantial:
County commissioners awarded the $3,190,704 contract to Vecellio & Grogan Inc. in February 2024. A $1.27 million grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission covers part of the cost. The county also says stormwater, road and infrastructure work for the park's entrance and drainage would follow the bridge opening, which helps explain why A1A between the new span and Little Jim's Bridge was under daytime flagging all October.
This is the main reason the island end matters more than the bridge does this fall. When the park reopens, it will be the first part of the causeway rebuilt for people who aren't driving across it. Paddlers will have a dedicated launch, and boaters will launch on the island side, a short run from the channel. Through December 1, any trip under the bridge still has to work around the daytime 40-foot limit.
Little Jim Bait & Tackle is just beyond the park at 601 N. Causeway, and it's still booking its calendar at that address. Its events page lists performances on Sunday, November 1. St. Lucie County's facility directory lists Little Jim Bridge Park at the same address, 601 North Causeway Drive, with a fishing pier, docks, a pavilion and restrooms.
Businesses near the bridge expected a lift once it opened. Ahead of opening day, Thomas Loaicono, executive chef at Skipper Cove, told WPTV, "It's just going to increase everything for us."
The county gives the park reopening as a month, not a date, so check the St. Lucie County closures page before you tow a boat over. For the bridge itself, FDOT's weekly Treasure Coast traffic report is still the most current source on lanes, paths and channel width.
If you live on North Hutchinson Island and the causeway work is shaping how you use your home, or whether you plan to stay or sell, I'm happy to talk through what this project means for your corner of the island. Livia Sorger follows these changes closely for the Treasure Coast communities she serves. Let's Connect.
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