Mayor Bobby Wagner updated the Destin City Council on June 2 about the new Marler Bridge project, announcing that the state is halfway through its preliminary design and engineering study for the harbor bridge.

• During the council comments portion of the meeting, Wagner shared that a local bridge architect with 32 years of experience has volunteered to help transform the project from a basic utility bridge into a gateway landmark.

Wagner said the architect has offered his services at no cost to help create something “extraordinary” that reflects Destin’s identity as a world-class fishing village.

“My goal would be for that bridge to really exemplify what this harbor is, which is a world-class fishing village that we’re trying to protect the heritage of,” Wagner said. “Just about any photo that you see in Destin, that bridge and the harbor is either a silhouette or is main stage.”

The volunteer architect is Bradley Touchstone, who met with city staff the morning of June 2. Wagner said Touchstone appears very knowledgeable about the project and has provided specific recommendations for moving forward.

Touchstone has recommended establishing a community-based Bridge Aesthetics Committee that would work directly with FDOT during the preliminary design and engineering phase. His plan includes having the committee create an Aesthetics Guidelines Document during the PD&E phase and formally requesting FDOT to create an aesthetics approval stage during the procurement process.

• The recommendations also call for the aesthetics committee to serve in an advisory role during the final design phase, with the bridge delivery team required to prove conformance with the guidelines before construction begins.

Wagner compared the potential project to Pensacola’s bridge, suggesting Destin could create something even better with improved structural integrity features.

“This could be something that, if we can do this right and we can pull off something very landmark-ish, we could be proud of for the next century,” Wagner said. 

Councilmember Sandy Trammell suggested using the existing harbor Community Redevelopment Agency rather than creating a new committee, noting the topic was discussed 20 years ago. 

Wagner welcomed the suggestion, saying he preferred fewer committees. He indicated the city would develop more concrete proposals for council consideration in the coming months, noting the project timeline extends about two decades into the future.