At 54 years old, the W.C. Holmes Memorial Bridge has carried generations of beachgoers over the Intracoastal Waterway including bicyclists and walkers.

But the addition of a vehicular lane to the Holmes Bridge, funded by a federal grant, came at the cost of its pedestrian path. To restore access for walkers and bikers, the city would need to add another lane to the bridge—a daunting challenge for a structure already carrying over 17 million motorists annually. According to city officials, the aging bridge simply isn’t equipped to bear the extra load.