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United States Coast Guard Page 2 February 23, 1972 <br />complexes, private school with 230 students who are <br />mostly from the west side of the river. There is an <br />increase in -professional services such as: doctors <br />lawyers, banks brokerage office, two new golf courses <br />and an increase in visitors resulting from the opening <br />of Disneyworld. <br />All this necessitates a considerable amount of heavy <br />equipment each day, back and forth over the bridge, <br />including school buses making their regular runs and <br />kindergarten runs. <br />The large shopping areas are all on the west side of <br />the river. This daily activity together with some <br />10,000 visitors during the season months, make it <br />imperative that some type of control on bridge openings <br />be established. <br />The Merrill P. Barber bridge is now approaching twenty <br />years of age and experiencing more and more malfunctions. <br />The Department of Transportation.is co-operating by <br />keeping'a maintenance crew on the alert. <br />According to the Department of Transportation, the Merrill <br />P. Barber bridge was opened some 2,797 times during 1971 <br />averaging 233 openings per month. The heaviest months <br />-26;_ <br />FEBpout 15 <br />2 ,7 '1972 <br />