Riviera Beach, Florida - The Port of Palm Beach is pleased to welcome Johnson Bros. Corporation, a Southland Company, as a new client. Johnson Bros. is a nationwide leading Heavy Civil Marine contractor. They have completed numerous moveable bridges in Florida and look forward to a successful project in Palm Beach County. In April 2016, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) awarded Johnson Bros. the Southern Boulevard Bridge Replacement Project. Connecting the City of West Palm Beach and the Town of Palm Beach, the bridges span the Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Worth Lagoon. After a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study analyzed various alternatives, the preferred bridge type for Southern Boulevard was finalized by the Federal Highway Administration in May of 2009. The current bascule bridge and tide relief bridge will be replaced. While the replacement bascule bridge is under construction, a temporary bridge will be built north of the existing bridge to allow continuity of traffic flow. While procuring materials for the temporary bridge, Johnson Bros. sought out a solution on how to efficiently transport those to the project site. “The Port of Palm Beach provides an efficient connection point between the building materials and the project site,” noted Blair J. Ciklin, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the Port of Palm Beach District. Johnson Bros. loads one to two barges with construction equipment and fabrication components weekly at the Port. “It’s the least expensive way to connect land and sea. Traffic congestion is not impacted, as the need to move materials by trucks to the bridge is eliminated.” Once utility owners move their lines beyond the construction zone, construction is scheduled to begin this month. Completion of the bridge construction is anticipated by late 2020, at an estimated cost of $93 million.