[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3852-3853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00115]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 117
[Docket No. USCG-2019-0955]
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; New River, Fort Lauderdale, FL
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation from regulations; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the
operating schedule that governs the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad
Bridge across the New River, mile 2.5, at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This deviation will test a change to the drawbridge operation schedule
to determine if the proposed operating schedule changes will meet the
reasonable needs of maritime traffic and railway traffic. This
deviation will allow the drawbridge to operate a more predictable
schedule.
DATES: This deviation is effective without actual notice from January
23, 2020 through 11:59 p.m. on June 26, 2020. For the purposes of
enforcement, actual notice will be used from 12:01 a.m. on January 4,
2020, until January 23, 2020.
Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or
before March 30, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2019-0955 using Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on
submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this test
deviation, call or email LT Samuel Rodriguez-Gonzalez, U.S. Coast
Guard, Sector Miami Waterways Management Division; telephone 305-535-
4307, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis
The Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad Bridge across the New River,
mile 2.5, at Fort Lauderdale, Florida is a single-leaf bascule railroad
bridge with a four foot vertical clearance at mean high water in the
closed position. The normal operating schedule for the bridge is found
in 33 CFR 117.313(c). Navigation on the waterway is commercial and
recreational. There has been an increase in rail traffic across the
bridge in recent years due the start of passenger rail service. The
bridge owner, Florida East Coast Railway, has requested to test an
alternate drawbridge operating schedule to determine if the needs of
railway traffic and maritime traffic can be better accommodated. This
test deviation provides for bridge openings a fixed times throughout
the day allowing for a more predictable drawbridge operating schedule.
Under this deviation, the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad Bridge
shall be maintained in the fully open-to-navigation position for
vessels at all times, except during periods when it is closed for the
passage of rail traffic, inspections and minor repairs. The drawbridge
shall open and remain open to navigation for a fixed 10-minute period
each hour, except that the drawbridge shall be open at the following
times which shall serve as the hourly fixed 10-minute period:
--7 a.m. until 7:10 a.m.
--9 a.m. until 9:10 a.m.
--4 p.m. until 4:10 p.m.
--6 p.m. until 6:10 p.m.
--10 p.m. until 10:10 p.m.
Additionally, in each hour from Noon to 2:59 p.m., the drawbridge
shall open and remain open to navigation for an additional 10-minute
period. The fixed 10-minute opening periods shall be published on a
quarterly basis by the drawbridge owner and reflected on the owner's
website and mobile application. In any case, the drawbridge shall not
be closed to navigation for more than 60 consecutive minutes.
The drawbridge shall have a drawbridge tender onsite at all times
who is capable of physically tending and operating the drawbridge by
local control, if necessary, or when ordered by the Coast Guard. The
drawbridge tender shall provide estimated times of drawbridge openings
and closures, upon request. Operational information will be provided 24
hours a day on VHF-FM channels 9 and 16 or by telephone at (305) 889-
5572. Signs shall be posted visible to marine traffic and displaying
VHF radio contact information, website and application information, and
the telephone number for the bridge tender.
In the event of a drawbridge operational failure, or other
emergency circumstances impacting normal drawbridge operations, the
drawbridge owner shall immediately notify the Coast Guard Captain of
the Port Miami and provide an estimated time of repair and return to
normal operations.
A drawbridge log shall be maintained including drawbridge opening
and closing times. The drawbridge log should include reasons for those
drawbridge closings that interfere with scheduled openings in this
part. This log shall be provided to the Coast Guard upon request.
A website and mobile application shall be maintained to publish:
Drawbridge opening times required by this subsection; timely updates to
schedules; at least 24-hour advance notice for each schedule in order
to facilitate planning by maritime
[[Page 3853]]
operators; and to the extent reasonably practicable, at least 60-
minutes advance notice of schedule changes or delays.
Vessels able to pass through the bridge in the closed position may
do so at anytime. The bridge will be able to open for emergencies and
there is no immediate alternate route for vessels to pass. The Coast
Guard will also inform the users of the waterways through our Local and
Broadcast Notices to Mariners of the change in operating schedule for
the bridge so that vessel operators can arrange their transits to
minimize any impact caused by the temporary deviation.
In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(e), the drawbridge must return to
its regular operating schedule immediately at the end of the effective
period of this temporary deviation. This deviation from the operating
regulations is authorized under 33 CFR 117.35.
II. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We view public participation as essential to effective rulemaking,
and will consider all comments and material received during the comment
period. Your comment can help shape the outcome of this rulemaking. If
you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation.
We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate
instructions.
We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the
docket, visit http://www.regulations.gov/privacynotice.
Dated: January 3, 2020.
Barry Dragon,
Director, Bridge Branch, Seventh Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2020-00115 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
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