DAYTONA BEACH — Seated outside his biker apparel store, Dan Birgen stared out toward an empty Main Street and watched forlornly as the occasional car crawled by.
While tourists could be seen everywhere up and down State Road A1A, they only seem to find their way to the shop he's managed for almost a year during Bike Week or Biketoberfest.
Things are already bad enough, Birgen said, noting that 70 percent of his revenue comes from motorcycle-themed events. He doesn't even want to think about what would happen to his business and others if the Main Street bridge, four blocks to the west, were to close for good.
"That would be stupid," said the general manager of One Sexy Biker Chick. "That would hurt us even more."
He needn't worry, at least not right away. There aren't any current plans to close the bridge, which dates back to 1959 and is seen by many as a piece of history.
However, as Volusia County officials begin to explore funding options for an upgrade — maybe the uber-expensive, high-rise variety instead of a drawbridge — that discussion may have to include another option that might have once seemed unthinkable.
"The other hurdle we need to discuss is the need for the bridge, period," George Recktenwald, now the interim county manager since Jim Dinneen's resignation, told County Council members at a recent meeting.
Recktenwald cited a host of reasons why that might be the best option.
One is traffic levels. The Main Street bridge is used far less than the others spanning the Halifax River.
Another is age. The bridge is so outdated it costs county taxpayers roughly $300,000 a year to staff and maintain. Repairs take time, and some parts needed to keep it running aren't even manufactured anymore. Yet, because Volusia finds a way to make those fixes — rather than let the bridge crumble into the water — its condition isn't critical enough to be seen as a priority for state and federal funding.
The bridge was deemed “functionally obsolete” with a sufficiency rating of 57 out of 100 in its most recent inspection report from the Florida Department of Transportation. According to federal guidelines, bridges must score below 50 in order to be eligible for funding from the Federal Highway Administration.
County officials say they can't afford to build a new bridge on their own. The high-rise Orange Avenue bridge under construction less than a mile to the south carries a price tag of $38 million. It qualified for federal funding, but that took about a decade to secure.
To some, the time is ripe to start talking about what's next for the Main Street drawbridge, which is closed on occasion due to repairs and clogs traffic whenever a large boat passes through.
Rather than focus on the bridge's history and age, at least one business leader believes the county needs to look to the future.
"Down the road, we will have to do something with that particular bridge," said Hyatt Brown, the president of Brown and Brown Insurance, who has plenty of reason to believe that the bridge will see a lot more traffic in the near future. His company is building a new headquarters on Beach Street within walking distance of Main Street that promises to bring more than 600 employees to the area.
Apartments are going up nearby where the Daytona Beach Baptist Church currently sits. And the county plans to build a five-story courthouse and four-story office complex nearby on Beach Street that will employ hundreds.
The Main Street side of the bridge could have better days ahead, too. Transforming that stretch of roadway so that it attracts customers and foot traffic 365 days a year was a top priority identified by a beachside redevelopment committee earlier this year.
"I kind of think we are going to need that bridge," Brown said, also citing increased traffic countywide as a reason. "I would not be in favor of seeing it close completely."
Daytona Beach city officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Yet when the topic came up at a County Council meeting in May and Recktenwald warned that getting rid of the bridge might be an option, Councilwoman Billie Wheeler scoffed.
"You're going to have a hard time convincing Daytona" that it's not needed, she said.
The council is expected to get more information about the bridge and its options at a future meeting. Citing all the activity in the area, Wheeler expressed a sense of urgency.
"I want to stay on (top of this) because we have so many things going on in Daytona beachside," she said, knowing that it could take years to secure funding for a new bridge. "It’s time to start really moving with the plans. We need to have everything in action and everything in gear, so I’d like to start whatever we need to do, whether it’s grant-finding or going to our legislators or whatever."