Sunrise Boulevard Bridge

This bridge does it all: it goes up, it goes down, and it allows vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists to safely cross the Intracoastal waterway to the beach side of town and vice versa. It is especially key in allowing larger boats to make their way north and south as they navigate the now murky waters of the Venice of America. The Sunrise Blvd Bridge is surrounded by condominiums, a hotel, the Galleria Mall, Birch State Park, and strip of restaurants, tattooists, and beach bars. This is just one of the many locations along the path of the annual Winterfest Boat Parade and used to be a great spot to watch the ‘olé Air and Sea Show. The Sunrise Bridge recently underwent an expansion and traffic flows toll-​free and almost effortlessly thanks to this drawbridge and its tender.

This drawbridge is noisy as hell but it’s so fun to watch it go up and down and see all the massive yachts moving through. Some of the operators try to rush people off the bridge by sounding the alarm and slowly moving the gate up and down to scare them into walking faster. Walk up and enjoy the view.

I didn’t start this drawbridge review, but in a drawbridge town like Fort Lauderdale, our drawbridges are indeed of local interest as well as something worthy Unilocaling out about.
This is a One Star drawbridge in a town loaded with drawbridges and some really great drawbridges. It doesn’t offer near the quality of views afforded by the Las Olas or the 17^th Street or the vehicle underpass of the Oakland. But it does have a redeeming quality, however not from atop or going over it; it is from going underneath it. It is what the underneath of bridge provides, not from the top of the bridge where one sees its true marvels since it is here, from the Intcoastal waters, that one will see that it is the home bridge to most of Fort Lauderdale’s iguana families.
Thanks in part its location near the Hugh Taylor Lloyd Birch Recreational Area, the wooden Intercoastal buttress areas of the bridge offer fantastic viewing of inguanas out sunning themselves, and regardless of the fact that they may be consider an «invasive species» (as are we tourists?), they are fantastic to look at. (See Pictures taken from under the bridge). And oh yes, as I do spend more time going under the bridge in my boat than I do going over the bridge in my car, the occasional friendly manatee too.
Hence, not for what’s on top of this One Star bridge, but for what is under it and also for the fact that this bridge serves as their home… Four Stars!

The Sunrise bridge was my first drawbridge when I visited Fort Lauderdale back in 1990. The first that I drove over, the first I walked over, the first I rode a bike over and the first that I went under in a boat. So it holds a special place for me — I’ve been under and over it often since.
Drawbridges, especially ones like this that are three lanes in each direction are a whole lot of engineering. Even though this one has a smaller clearance at only 16 feet, it is quite solid and amazingly sturdy. It still manages to open every half hour as needed to let the sailboats go past. And when it opens, it swings pretty darned quickly. Amazing.

Traffic running on both sides of bridge now.

I’m writing a review simply because I have the option of writing a review of a bridge. As far as bridges go, it’s no Golden Gate, but hey, it takes you from point A to point B, and lifts up for boats. So, for that simple functionality, this bridge gets 4 stars. Yeah, it’s annoying when you’re stuck as it lifts, but try complaining to someone who lives in a negative 25 degree climate and has never seen an ocean. I appreciate you, Sunrise Blvd. Bridge. Keep on keeping on.

A six lane draw bridge that goes up every half hour on the :00 and :30 if there are boats waiting. Invariably, I somehow manage to always get to it as the bridge is going up. Going from beach side to mainland is no big deal; but if you are going from mainland to beach side be prepared for traffic jams in the right most lane when you get to the Galleria Mall.