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FDOT Begins Demolition On Damaged Pensacola Bay Bridge; Updates Latest Repair Info
September 29, 2020
Demolition efforts got underway Monday on the Hurricane Sally and barge damaged areas of the Pensacola Bay Bridge as the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) statewide team of bridge experts are nearing the conclusion of inspecting and assessing the structure.
“Once the situation is fully assessed, and damages are fully understood, appropriate parties will be held responsible for the repairs,” FDOT said in a statement Monday.
The survey of the piers and topside inspections have been completed along with most of the underwater footings. The priority demolition efforts are focused on the areas that need to be cleared for dive access to examine the final 22 footings below the waterline. The contractor is utilizing additional resources to expedite demolition.
Three of the Skanska’s barges remain on or under the bridge and the removal of those barges will have to be done with great caution, according to FDOT. Skanska has prioritized the removal of the barges and will work closely with FDOT to ensure the least amount of additional damage possible to the bridge in this effort.
The design is underway for the permanent repairs and reestablishment of four lanes of traffic on the bridge. Durability, and ensuring there is absolutely no reduction in the bridge’s strength as a result of the repairs, remains paramount in the design plans, FDOT said.
FDOT hopes to have the final total number of the spans/piers that will ultimately need to be replaced by the end of this week, Skanska has already fabricated 25 beams and the piers needed to begin repairs. The contractor has also begun constructing more replacement beams and piers at its offsite yard and has reached out to other facilities to assist in production. This aggressive effort will allow the installation of these items to commence as soon as demolition of the damaged items are complete.
Further preliminary inspection findings include:
To date, FDOT divers have inspected 202 underwater footings while top side inspection teams have assessed 105 spans, 202 piers and 525 beams.
The number of spans requiring full replacement remains at five and FDOT has identified an additional two that will require partial replacement.
FDOT will have to replace a number of beams and is still determining the specific number needing replacement.
FDOT and its partners have made the reopening of the Pensacola Bay Bridge a top priority with numerous efforts underway, but the bridge will remain closed until further notice.
Motorists should continue to use all available detour routes, which include the Garcon Point Bridge and State Road 87. At this time, tolls on the Garcon Point Bridge have been suspended through 6 a.m., Friday, October 23.
Comments
8 Responses to “FDOT Begins Demolition On Damaged Pensacola Bay Bridge; Updates Latest Repair Info”
“why does the state take over those two ferry
that only the tourist use……….
Those National Seashore boat”
Both were forced up onto their docks by the hurricane, and both were damaged.
why does the state take over those two ferry
that only the tourist use……….
Those National Seashore boat……they
can hold a great of people and the
contactor and pick up the price tag and write
it off this tax…………
GB could build a pier at the foot of the bay bridge
and pensacola could use the docking allready in place.
Can’t anyone use a little common since………….
We can all critize, make negative comments, etc. but we do not have the responsibility of building bridges or even begin to understand the bigger picture!! Yes it will impact us all in some manner…but can’t we work together to make this situation more bearable??…Let’s carpool, hire a bus to take us to the beach for the day and do whatever is needed to help our community!! After all, we are a community comprised of a lot of wonderful, smart and innovative people!!!❤️
Skanska could start some Goodwill repair by jumping into to help City Gulf Breeze prepare a Ferry Boat LandLanding , Passenger ferry service to Pensacola would help their staff and personnel avoid a long daily commute.
Why don’t they focus on building the other side of the new bridge then fix the broken one after. Might be easier and quicker.Just an idea
Having worked for them for over two years the prep sure seems oddly favored . We prepped for storms by pushing the rigs and barges into bayou Chico Everytime. The rigs that wouldn’t fit was took to shallow water in gulf breeze and the 40 ft spuds were pinned into bottom. But the day before the storm the rigs were pinned off in deep water with not enough spud left for the water rise that was coming in . So basically the water rise enough the spuds lost there hold in the bottom and away they went. And all else tied to them went too. We had prepped for storms before and nothing was done even close to the normal procedures. So I believe the prep work was done with the thinking that as soon as it blew thru that they would go right back to work. Some of their so called cost saving measures they have been running for a bit now.
Why didn’t they just build a tall Plain Jane suspension bridge? All the money they spent on this boondoggle in my opinion to doll it up and make it look pretty. With a suspension bridge, you have a lot fewer pilings in the water making it less likely to have impact from barges and ships. Build a mini Sunshine Skyway type of bridge.
Skanska needs to earn back the confidence of this community. And so far, nothing they have said or done since being 6 months behind schedule on elements of this bridge. Too late to fire them??