The City of Port St. Lucie to Host Grand Opening and Community Block Party for Crosstown Parkway
Saturday, September 28, 2019 starting at 9 a.m.
PORT ST. LUCIE – The entire community is invited to come together to celebrate the grand opening of the Crosstown Parkway on Saturday, September 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and be among the first to experience PSL’s new bridge over the North Fork of the St. Lucie River up close.
Because of support from generous sponsors, the City is planning a Community Celebration and Block Party at the site of the bridge that will give residents a chance to have fun and learn more about this exciting addition to the city – a momentous occasion more than 30 years in the making. The new bridge connecting Crosstown Parkway with U.S. Highway 1 will open to traffic at about 4 p.m. following the celebration.
“This is going to be a great event for residents, families and the community to celebrate the opening of one of the biggest projects the City has ever undertaken,” said City Manager Russ Blackburn. “We look forward to celebrating the work that went into this project and finally opening the bridge for our residents. The new bridge will bring many benefits, especially helping to improve safety and travel times across the City.”
The dedication ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. and will include remarks from dignitaries and elected officials who helped make this bridge a reality over the decades. A ribbon cutting, anticipated at 10:30 a.m., will take place following the dedication ceremony. The Community Block Party Celebration will immediately follow around the lake at the southeast corner of Floresta Drive and Crosstown Parkway. Event activities include live music, kids zone activities, mopar and classic cars, and food trucks. Those who attend will get a unique opportunity to take a trolley tour over the bridge and learn from our guides about some of its history and special elements, including the sculptures that feature a tile mosaic by artist Guy Harvey.
Commemorative merchandise will be sold at the event including Guy Harvey t-shirts, posters and Tervis tumblers featuring the artwork on the bridge towers. Bridge ornaments also will be sold at the event.
Convenient event parking will be available on the west side of the bridge along Crosstown Parkway. To get to the Crosstown Community Celebration, please take the Crosstown Parkway east towards Sandia Drive until you see the police officers directing traffic. If you’re traveling from the east, please take Airoso Boulevard to the Crosstown Parkway, as Floresta Drive near Crosstown will be closed for the event. Following the event, the bridge will be open to traffic starting at 4 p.m. Motorists can start lining up at 3 p.m. on Crosstown eastbound from Airoso Blvd. to Sandia Dr. to be one of the first to drive their car over the bridge east to U.S. 1.
The City of Port St. Lucie and partners have been working since 1980 to make this bridge a reality for our growing city. The project has received local, state and federal funds. Construction on the bridge began in 2017. Even though the bridge will open to traffic following the event, additional construction activities will take place under the bridge and as needed throughout the project limits until the end of 2019. The six-lane divided highway and bridge will provide a much needed third east-west connection across the North Fork of the St. Lucie River, alleviating traffic congestion on Port St. Lucie and Prima Vista Boulevards. The project will also serve as a multi-modal transportation alternative with accommodations for automobile, bicycle, pedestrian and public transit.
For project updates or information on the event, please continue to check our project website, www.crosstownextension.com. Or please contact Beth Zsoka, Crosstown Parkway Extension Project Public Information Officer by email at beth.zsoka@qcausa.com or phone at 772-871-5176. Media inquiries should be directed to Sarah Prohaska, City of Port St. Lucie Public Information Officer at sprohaska@cityofpsl.com or 772-873-6326. For sponsorship information, please visit www.cityofpsl.com/crosstown.
Treasure Coast Business is a news service and magazine published in print, via e-newsletter and online at tcbusiness.com by Indian River Magazine Inc. For more information or to report news email staff@tcbusiness.com