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Pensacola Bay Bridge Reopening Delayed Again, This Time Until The Week Of Memorial Day
March 29, 2021
The projected reopening date for the Pensacola Bay Bridge has been delayed again; this time until the week of Memorial Day.
The Florida Department of Transportation said Monday afternoon that during repair efforts additional damage was found on a trophy piece — the large piers that support the bridge.
“During repair efforts on the trophy pieces at pier 70, repair crews identified additional damage that warranted replacing the interior trophy piece at pier 70,” FDOT said. “The trophy piece’s replacement at pier 70 is critical since the demolition, pile driving, trophy installation, beam placement and deck pouring will be required.”
Earlier this year, FDOT officials said the bridge would be reopened with at least two lanes on March 22. In early march, officials said that would not happen after more trophy piece damage was found.
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 are suspended through Friday, April 9, 2021. Commuters can also use the Escambia County Area Transit’s (ECAT) temporary bus route travel between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze free of charge.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
31 Responses to “Pensacola Bay Bridge Reopening Delayed Again, This Time Until The Week Of Memorial Day”
It is so stooped that we have to wait until memorial day
One thing this bridge debacle has taught me is, there are a lot of bridge experts out there not working on bridges.
1. Don’t take low bid.
2. Let a road or bridge builder tell you how it should be done.
3. Watch for storms.
Imagine all of the trucks that have run into Graffiti bridge and not once has the bridge collapsed. I don’t think the Pensacola Bay bridge was safe even before the barges hit the it
Seems like a half done inspection after the hurricane to me, I don’t know about you I’ve never seen anything torn apart and not affect other parts of a structure. There is a thing called peeling back the layers of a damaged car, a home, and other structures until no damage is found. Then you begin the process of rebuilding to pre wreck status. For anyone that thinks the damage is isolated to the points of impact should have been slapped with some common sense, I’ll go on the record that this disaster won’t be ready come July!
@andres. . Scott Bridge pulled their equipment off job recently.
We also now have two companies helping to fix the bridge! Does this mean more taxpayers money paying for Skanska’s mess or is this extra money coming from their pocket?
The bridge going out has effected local business way more than covid did. Someone needs to save and help these small business in Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. Whos going to help them #notskanska
After the damage occured the state brought in other inspection teams because they didn’t trust skanska. Now that the actual repair work is taking place the repair crews are finding this damage. So yes skanska is responsible for the damage but the DOT has got something to bear here because they brought in their Pro’s to find the damage. So it all is one big mess joined at the hip.
I have a bridge in Manhattan for sale…if you believe the latest.
Not surprising in the least.
Escambia County has quickly become the odiferous armpit of the South.
A bright, shining example of how not to do things… all things!!
I say wait until after Labor Day….maybe the groups that think a family beach is great for open air nudity and sexual “expression”, who also always leave the beach absolutely trashed when they leave, will go somewhere else!
While West of us (Mobile) and East of us (FWB, Destin) continue to grow, Escambia County continues to remain the Panhandle’s “sleepy little landfill” community.
However, if stagnation was an exportable commodity, all of our woes (education, employment, healthcare, etc.) would be resolved overnight.
It is hilarious how a “New York” minute takes 3 to 6 months in the South and not sure that “backwards” would be considered as a reasonable pace of progress.
The inability to fix a bridge is a textbook third world problem. So is not being able to provide health care and a decent education to your citizens. Some people will think I haven’t travelled. Well, three of the many countries I’ve been to are China, India, and Bangladesh. China and India would have had this fixed within a month of the accident (that wouldn’t have happened in the first place). We’re basically tied with Bangladesh except they’re moving up and we’re falling further behind. We might not want to believe it but it is like that.
Instead of just extending the right turn lane from the Garson Point bridge to Hwy 98 200ft how about extending it another 400 ft and make a long merge lane onto 98 or make the right lane before the intersection closed so that traffic from the detour can travel much like they did at I10 and Avalon Blvd.
Y’all the nine mile Rd construction is F.D.O.T that has certain criteria that has to be done step by step . They can only do as FDOT approves . They have a time frame for each thing they do to these roads . We all know that it’s a mess , we have to wait in traffic . But I am thankful God gave me another Day to be late for work or stuck in traffic. When everything is done and completed we will all enjoy our bridges and roads . Then we can all fuss about something else . Be thankful that we all have cars to drive . It could be worse . Pensacola Strong
Attention Governor; Skanska is a incompetent company. They have caused delays here and in Orlando. They do sloppy work. Fire their ass!!
Yeah j Larry seale
Maybe next time FDOT will put in their design step by step instructions for contractors to follow in the event of a storm. So their stuff doesn’t tear up what they just built.
WHATEVER !!!
Nothing happens on time or expeditiously in the Deep South. Are you seriously surprised yawl (sic)?
“It may be time for a new bridge when this one is opened.”
Agreed, tg. And I will add the construction on Hwy 29 and 9 mile may be complete before this bridge is safe (and the
those roads will immediately be torn back up like Olive Rd).
Research on Wikipedia says it only took 66 days after Hurricane Ivan made landfall to get traffic flowing again. What the heck? Plus they didn’t have equipment staged and ready. Maybe a $1.5 million bonus would get it done. Businesses and the local economy is losing money everyday.
This is a STATE design bridge……
the contractor is following what the
Florida DOT set forth……….
If anybody is to blain for the flaws let it
begin at FDOT………….
Just in time for hurricane season.
“WHY DID WE WASTE MONEY ON THE “trophy pieces” TO BEGIN WITH??????????”
Because they hold up the bridge.
WHY DID WE WASTE MONEY ON THE “trophy pieces” TO BEGIN WITH??????????
And in a non-related news story. 9 Mile road construction will be delayed 6 months for the removal of a new ant hill.
So, no chance to be open by Earth Day?
Is that for 2022…. I will let the first million cars to go across before i will join them
I’m still perplexed that damage can be found more than 5 months after the hurricane and that’s somehow acceptable. In no other work field is something like this acceptable. The full extend of the damage should have been known within a week. Pure laziness of everyone involved during the damage diagnosis phase. Additional gulf breeze businesses will be forced to close during this additional two month delay. PATHETIC!
It may be time for a new bridge when this one is opened.
I’ll believe it when I see it. I still predict a year to reopen.