By Jim Turner

STUART — About 70 people were in line this morning , well before the opening of a job fair for the Indian Street Bridge project. The first hopefuls in line said they arrived at 4 a.m.

Potential bridge workers are asked to bring resumes today to the Martin County Fairgrounds for the bridge project, which may finally be getting off the ground within a couple of months.

Applications were being accepted immediately after the event began at 8 a.m.

At least 50 to 60 positions are being sought by the primary contractor of the project, Archer Western, and subcontractors will also be on hand taking applications for the project that is being bankrolled by the federal stimulus.

The federal government has estimated the $72 million project between Stuart and Palm City, expected to take three years, will create about 700 construction jobs during construction.

In addition to workers, the Palm City and Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce, which are helping to organize this event, are inviting businesses that want to serve as auxiliary supply and service companies for the project.

The long-sought and highly controversial bridge is a 1.96 mile project that will includes a half-mile crossing of the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, linking Indian Street in Stuart with 36th Street in Palm City. The bridge is to have a 55-foot clearance.

Indian Street Bridge jobs

Where to apply:

March 14

8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Martin County Fairgrounds, 2616 S.E. Dixie Highway, Stuart

March 15, March 16

8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Palm City Chamber of Commerce, 3649 S.E. St. Lucie Shores Drive

For information, call: 772-287-1088 or 772-286-8121

Visit: www.indianstreetbridge.com

Initial positions open:

Carpenter foreman, 5-plus years bridge experience

Carpenter, 1 year bridge experience

Pile driver foreman, 5-plus years experience

Pile driver, 3-plus years experience

Welder, 3-plus years experience, certified, pipe experience

Crane operator, CCO certified, 5-plus years pile driving experience

Loader operator, 3 years experience

Erosion control foreman, 5 years experience

Semi-skilled laborer, 1 year experience

Concrete finisher, 3 years experience

This entry was posted on Monday, March 14th, 2011 at 8:39 am and is filed under Economy, Stuart. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.