Escambia’s Second Steel Pre-Fab Bridge Installed On Nokomis Road

April 5, 2018

Workers installed a new prefabricated steel bridge to replace the Nokomis Road bridge over Reedy Creek on Wednesday.

Now that the 50 x 36 foot bridge is in place, work on the asphalt approach and other items are expected to be complete and the road is expected to be open by the end of April, according to County Administrator Jack Brown.

Due to structural deficiencies, the state ordered the Nokomis Road bridge closed in December. The county implemented a short detour on the dirt Albritton and Jakes Roads. Due to the November 8 closure of a bridge on Arthur Brown Road and a November 14 closure of a bridge on Arthur Brown Road, the only detour options were a 31-mile, 30-35 mph average speed detour in Florida, or a lengthy detour into Alabama.

The detour solutions all presented hazards to the public, according to county officials.

After implementing the detour, the county received several calls from area residents who are concerned about meeting and passing truck traffic because of the narrow width of Jakes Road and its steep shoulders making them feel unsafe when pulling to the side when meeting  trucks and other vehicles. Rain also causes  the dirt road surface to become slippery and unstable. Vehicles, including emergency vehicles, are at risk of becoming stuck when pulling onto these shoulders.

The first steel permanent replacement bridge in Escambia County recently opened on Arthur Brown Road (there were two bridges closed on Arthur Brown Road). The bridge over Freeman Springs Branch was closed November 8 and bridge replacement work began on December 6 after prep work was completed.  The new 24-foot wide steel bridge arrived in three major pieces on January 5. It was installed on January 6 and was open by January 29.

The steel bridge on Arthur Brown Road saved several months of construction time and cost about $400,000 as opposed to $1 million for a concrete bridge.

The new bridges are solid American steel with corrugated decks that are paved with asphalt after installation for several decades of service.

Pictured: A prefabricated steel bridge was installed Wednesday on Nokomis Road. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

4 Responses to “Escambia’s Second Steel Pre-Fab Bridge Installed On Nokomis Road”

  1. Citizen on April 6th, 2018 12:44 am

    Thanks to Commissioner Steven Barry and Administrator Jack Brown for thinking out of the box and getting it done, ahead of schedule and under budget!!!

    And also thanks to the workers!
    North Escambia Proud!

  2. Bob C. on April 5th, 2018 6:11 pm

    Awesome, can these fine folks come help out on Olive Road?
    Seems they’ve been working on it a couple of years and still have a mess there.

  3. Donna Funck on April 5th, 2018 12:51 pm

    Is this an option on Occie Phillips Road?

  4. Nod on April 5th, 2018 10:35 am

    Somebody is actually in government is actually saving time and money

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News