ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In northeast St. Petersburg, there is just one bridge to get in and out of the small Tanglewood neighborhood, just north of Shore Acres.
For nearly a year, residents of the small island community have been dealing with construction narrowing the bridge to a single lane and the temporary stop lights installed to control traffic.
"They brought this crane in and then they took it out and then they brought it back in," Alan Sayler, a longtime Tanglewood resident, said. "I mean...it's been sitting there."
The Bayou Grande Boulevard Bridge has one lane completely blocked off as construction crews rebuild that half of the bridge. The single lane that is open to traffic leaves little wiggle room between it and a narrow sidewalk.
There are nearly 100 homes on the island, all dependent on that bridge to get to and from their homes.
"It's extremely frustrating," Sayler said when describing driving across the bridge.
Construction began on the project in June 2022. Some residents say in that time, little work has been done.
"Nothing was getting done," Jack Frost, a Tanglewood resident, said. "And so I think that was the complaint that is the only way on and off the island."
The Bayou Grand Blvd Bridge project is slated to be completed by December 2023. But, according to a notice the city of St. Pete recently issued, only about 30 percent of the work has been done.
The deficiency notice was issued in March, stating the construction company American Empire Builders need to commit to properly staffing and providing adequate materials and equipment to complete the project.
Neighbors complain there are days that pass with no work done at all.
"It's gonna take whatever length of time it's gonna take, but we just see not a lot of activity," Frost said.
The city of St. Pete said the company, American Empire Builders, will not face penalties unless it misses its December deadline. If work is done past the contract end date in December, the company will be fined $1,500 per day work is done to complete the project.
The project started because the bridge needed replacing. It was built in 1950. American Empire Builders only gets paid for the work that's been completed. So far, just over $1M of its $3.6M contract has been completed and paid out.
"If they screw this thing up and take this bridge out, we got a real problem here," Sayler said. "I can't get to work. I could get my boat my art cars would be stuck here. It'd be a nasty mess."
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.