By: Erik Bojnansky
Michael is quoted in the South Florida Business Journal regarding the firm’s representation of the 22 marine businesses and organizations in a lawsuit filed against the Florida East Coast Railway Company (FEC), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for condoning and obstructing a federally regulated waterway. The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Notice of Temporary Deviation regarding the bridge, which Micahel deemed a “reasonable compromise, as the long-range solution would be the construction of a new bridge to accommodate the interests of all parties involved.”
Brightline’s train schedule between South Florida and Orlando could be adversely affected by a U.S. Coast Guard plan to open a rail draw bridge in Martin County twice each hour.
Under the proposed Coast Guard plan, the Florida East Coast Railroad bridge above the Okeechobee Waterway near Stuart, Florida, will open regularly at the quarter and three-quarter hour and remain open “until all vessels requiring or requesting an opening have cleared.” The open period will not exceed 15 minutes, the Coast Guard stated.
The temporary regulations will be in effect from June 21 to Dec. 17. During that period, the Coast Guard will determine how the new regulations will affect rail and boat traffic.