The Sunrise Bridge Works on a Night Clock. Most of Coral Ridge's Fall Beach Calendar Runs by Daylight.

Since September 3, the Sunrise Boulevard drawbridge over the Intracoastal has carried all of its traffic on the north side, two lanes each way. The plan is to keep it that way through early 2027. That bridge is the most direct way from Coral Ridge to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Bonnet House and the north end of Fort Lauderdale Beach. Two lanes is the constant. What changes from day to day is a separate permission written into the project: lane closures as needed, at night, from Thursday through Sunday. Line that window up against the fall calendar at the beach end of the bridge and almost everything lands outside it. The exceptions are two Thursday evenings in December.

Two Lanes Each Way, All Day

The City of Fort Lauderdale's August 28 traffic advisory lays out the current setup.

• The south side of the bridge, which used to carry eastbound traffic, is closed through early 2027.
• Both directions now share the north side, with two lanes each way.
• Drivers on westbound Sunrise can't turn left onto southbound NE 26th Avenue while this setup is in place.
• The bridge stayed closed to boats for one stretch only, from September 1 at 8 a.m. to September 3 at 8 a.m., while traffic was moved over.

Eastbound trips toward the beach still work. The banned turn is a westbound move. People on foot or bike still have a way across too. The Florida Department of Transportation's October 2 Broward traffic report says pedestrian and bicycle access stays open on the north bridge, the south sidewalk is closed, and signs guide people through.

The project is bigger than one season. FDOT's project page for contract T4711 lists a $43.2 million budget, GLF Construction Co. as contractor, and limits that run 0.80 miles from west of Middle River Drive to east of North Birch Road. The work includes a new solid-surface aluminum bridge deck, new mechanical and electrical parts, new marine fenders in the channel, rebuilt support walls on the south side, a renovated bridge tender house, and LED streetlights along the corridor. The finish date depends on the source. The project page says Fall 2027. FDOT's October 2 report says late 2027. The Sun Sentinel's May 14 preview reported an early 2028 wrap-up.

The Work Window Is Written Down

The same Sun Sentinel story reported that FDOT will allow lane closures on Sunrise Boulevard "as needed" from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m., Thursday through Sunday. It also reported that each side of the bridge will have its own lane closures while its deck is replaced. That's a permission, not a schedule. Being allowed to close a lane on a Friday night doesn't mean a lane will be closed that night. Still, the window tells you which hours carry the most uncertainty. Daytime trips on any day fall outside it, and so do all trips Monday through Wednesday.

The project sits on a working drawbridge, which adds a second clock. The federal drawbridge rules set Sunrise Boulevard to open on the hour and half hour. The Sun Sentinel reported that half of the channel will close while the fenders are rebuilt and that the drawbridge schedule may change. So far, the only marine closure announced is the one from early September.

Daylight at the Foot of the Bridge

The FDOT work zone ends just past North Birch Road. That puts it right at the edge of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park at 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd., the first stop on the beach side. The park is open 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year. Its weekly programs all run in daylight. Rangers lead free one-hour nature and history walks at 10:30 a.m. every Friday and Saturday, and the regular park entry fee still applies. Staff also give a live-animal presentation outside the Terramar Visitor Center at 1 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The center itself has exhibits on the area's natural and cultural history.

Since the north sidewalk is open, you can reach the park without a car. The park's fee schedule makes the comparison easy.

For one or two people, walking or biking over costs the same as driving or less. A group of four in one car pays less than four people on foot. Either way, the money is small next to the bigger question of whether you want to use the bridge's two remaining lanes at all.

Some of the park isn't open right now. The floating dock has been closed since May 11, 2026. The large pavilions, the Banyan restrooms and the North End restrooms have been closed for construction since September 22, 2025, and the park page doesn't give a reopening date. Anyone planning a group picnic should check the park page before counting on a pavilion.

Bonnet House Fills the Daytime Slots

A little farther along, Bonnet House Museum & Gardens has a fall calendar that mostly avoids the work window. Self-guided visits run Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the grounds close at 5 p.m. Admission is $30 for adults, or $25 for Broward residents with ID. A gardens-only ticket is $15.

Here is how the season's events line up against the 7 p.m. to 8 a.m., Thursday through Sunday window.

Halloween Fest includes a costume runway, a DJ, face painting and a trick-or-treat trail. Tickets are $25 for adults, $8 for ages 6 to 17, and free for kids under 6. At Fall Family Day, adults get in at half price and kids 13 and under get in free. On Veterans Day, a veteran gets in free with one full-price $30 self-guided ticket.

Halloween Fest also comes in the middle of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which runs October 28 through November 1 at Bahia Mar, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina and the Broward County Convention Center. Even so, its 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours sit in the part of the day the bridge permit leaves open.

The Two Thursdays That Land Inside the Window

Holiday Magic is Bonnet House's ninth annual fundraiser. It has live music, seasonal food and drink, and house tours, and the proceeds from holiday décor sales go toward preservation. Holiday displays are for sale through December 27. The two Concerts on the Veranda fall on December 3 and December 10, both Thursdays. That's the first night of the four-night stretch when FDOT can close lanes on Sunrise after 7 p.m.

These are the two fall evenings when the trip home from the beach side has the most uncertainty built in. The north sidewalk is the same both nights. For anyone in Coral Ridge close enough to the bridge to walk, the concert nights are when the pedestrian route matters most. For drivers, FDOT's weekly Broward traffic report lists the closures planned for each week. Checking the edition that covers the concert week will show whether anything is scheduled at Sunrise.

When the Outing Needs a Car

Some beach-side plans go far enough that walking isn't realistic, and the destination decides which bridge makes sense.

Motek By The Sea is moving into the former El Vez space at the W Fort Lauderdale, 401 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. Miami New Times reported on September 30 that the roughly 12,000-square-foot restaurant should seat 315 guests indoors and out, with the full restaurant set to open in November 2026. Takeout and delivery are already running from the W. The address is south of Sunrise on the beach road, so the reduced bridge is the obvious way there. Dinner reservations from Thursday through Sunday will fall inside the work window.

Koji & Coal is in the other direction. The same Miami New Times roundup lists it as open at 3558 N. Ocean Blvd., serving upscale, Asian-inspired kosher food. That's north toward Galt Ocean Mile. From Coral Ridge, the Oakland Park Boulevard bridge goes there without touching the Sunrise work zone. We couldn't find a fall 2026 source showing whether that bridge has its own lane closures, so it's another route, not a promised shortcut. Its drawbridge opens at a quarter past and a quarter to the hour, the opposite of Sunrise's on-the-hour and half-hour openings.

The weekend market works the same way. The MKT at Las Olas Oceanside Park, 3000 E. Las Olas Blvd., runs year-round on weekends with produce, food, handmade goods and free community fitness classes. Its general hours are Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The October 17 and 18 dates are listed as running until 5 p.m. Like Birch, Bonnet House and Halloween Fest, it's a daytime event, so it falls outside the work window.

If a Holiday Magic Thursday has you rethinking the evening route home, or if the south side's reopening date matters for a waterfront project of your own, Laurie's Lauderdale Group follows this corridor closely. Request a Design + Market Consultation and we'll go over what the bridge timeline means for your plans on either side of Sunrise.