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Escambia Seeks Funds To Replace Bridges, Including 50 In North Escambia
January 14, 2010
Many of Escambia County’s 128 bridges are wooden or have wooden supports, and many are 50 to 70 years old. Eleven are classified as “structurally deficient” and seven are classified as “functionally obsolete”. Now, the county is seeking $96.6 million to replace 103 of those bridges — including 50 bridges in North Escambia — within the next 10 years.
The number one bridge on the county’s wooden substructure bridge priority list is on Fannie Road at Dead Lake, just outside Century. Built in 1960, the 121 foot bridge has a 10 ton weight limit. The estimated price tag to replace the bridge is $1.48 million.
Bridges like the one on Fannie Road are not dangerous, according to county officials, but they are aging and in need of replacement before they become dangerous. While drivers see asphalt on the surface of the bridge, what they don’t see is the wood structure underneath.
Most of Escambia County’s bridges — all but 13 — are inspected every two years by the Florida Department of Transportation. The other 13 — bridges less than 20 feet wide, are inspected by a contractor hired by the county.
The county has applied for a $96.6 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant, part of the federal stimulus package, to pay for the bridge replacements for the structurally deficient, obsolete and otherwise aging bridges. The county is also asking for $6 million from the state legislature to replace the Fannie Road Bridge and six others.
Other North Escambia wooden substructure bridges that are considered structurally deficient, with date of construction and replacement cost, are:
- Beck’s Lake Road across an unnamed branch, 1968, $640,000
- Pineville Road at Long Hollow Creek, 1968, $610,000
- Tungoil Road at McDavid Creek 1969, $860,000
- Lambert Bridge Road at Pine Barron Creek, 1967, $2.24 million
- Brickyard Road at an unnamed branch, 1960, $640,000
- Bet Raines Road at Jack’s Branch, 1967, $610,000
- Occie Phillips Road at Brushy Creek, 1968, $1 million
The county needs a total of $11.8 million to replace the bridges classified as structurally deficient and an additional $7.3 million to replace the ones that are classified as being functionally obsolete.
Other North Escambia wooden bridges on the county’s priority replacement wish list, with date of construction and replacement cost, are:
- Highway 99A at Boggy Creek, 1969, $770,000
- Highway 97A at Boggy Creek, 1968, $1.48 million
- Highway 164 at Pine Barren Creek, 1958, $2.01 million
- Highway 99A at Little Pine Barren Creek, 1970, $1 million
- Highway 168 at an unnamed branch, 1968, $610,000
- Highway 168 at Reedy Creek, 1968,$730,000
- Highway 168 at Hobbs Branch, 1965, $1 million
- Nokomis Road at Brushy Creek, 1967, $1.33 million
- Molino Road at Alligator Creek, 1959, $860,000
- Schagg Road at Jack’s Branch, 1965, $890,000
- Molino Road at Penasula Creek, 1958, $610,000
- Gibson Road at Alligator Creek, 1959, $1.02 million
- Rigby Road at Beaver Creek Road, 1965, $1 million
- Chestnut Road at unnamed branch, 1967, $740,0000
- Pineville Road at Reedy Branch, 1964, $620,000
- Pine Barron Road at unnamed branch, 1964, $730,000
- McKenzie Road, 1961, $620,000
- Hanks Road at Breastworks Creek, 1968, $730,000
- Highway 99A at Freeman Springs Branch, 1968, $610,000
- Schagg Road at branch of Jack’s Branch, 1965, $620,000
- Sandy Hollow Road at Sandy Hollow Creek, 1959, $730,000
- Sunshine Hill Road at unnamed branch, unknown age, $470,000
- Stacy Road at unnamed branch, unknown age, $490,000
- Pine Top Lane at unnamed branch, unknown age, $480,000
- Chestnut Road at unnamed branch, unknown age, $480,000
- Breastworks Road at Hall’s Branch, unknown age, $490,000
Fourteen of 16 concrete or steel bridges and culverts classified as “priority two” for replacement, are in North Escambia:
- Highway 4 at Alligator Creek, 1949, $1.6 million
- Highway 196 at Jack’s Branch, 1949, $1.35 million
- Highway 4 at Canoe Creek, 1942, $2.59 million
- Highway 99 at Pine Barren Creek, 1955, $2.34 million
- Highway 196 at Penasula Creek, 1949, $1.5 million
- Highway 4 at Reedy Creek, 1942, $1.38 million
- Highway 99 at McDavid Creek, 1951, $2.1 million
- Highway 99 at Little Pine Barren Creek, 1955, $2.1 million
- County Road 4 at Beaver Creek Dam, 1940, $840,000
- Quintette Road at unnamed ditch, 1956, $580,000
- Greenland Road at Pine Barren Creek, 1955, $620,000
- Molino Road at Dry Creek, 1959, $780,000
- Highway 196 at unnamed branch, 1959, $550,000
- Highway 4 at Little Pine Creek, 1942, $640,000
There are additional concrete or steel bridges and culverts in North Escambia on a “priority three” replacement list, including:
- County Road 97 at Jack’s Branch, 1960, $1.96 million
- Highway 196 at Cowdevil Creek, 1961, $680,000
- Highway 168 at unnamed branch, 1967, $980,000
Pictured: The Highway 4 bridge at Canoe Creek was construct in 1942. Replacing the bridge would cost the county an estimated $2.59 million. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
15 Responses to “Escambia Seeks Funds To Replace Bridges, Including 50 In North Escambia”
Boy!!!!!!!!! A bridge on Fannie road being on top of the list to be replaced, this surprised the bejeepers out of me. This sure wasn’t the case back in 2004 after Ivan. Ivan destroyed the Big Escambia bridge on Fannie road and the Perdido river bridge on Barrineau Park road. Fannie road is pretty busy with people traveling back and forth between Brewton and Century and surrounding areas. It was also very inconvenient for people in the Fannie area having to make two round trips a day through Flomaton to take their kids to get on the school bus in Century. On the other hand, Barrineau Park road has very little traffic on it, and Alabama doesn’t keep up their side that well. So what did our illustrious county leaders do, the obvious, they chose to replace the Barrineau Park bridge first, delaying replacing the bridge on Fannie road for a year. Hopefully the county will get the money to replace all these bridges, but will use good sense on replacing the ones that are used the most, not start with the ones that see only 4 or 5 cars a day.
Another BOCC failure to plan. What’s more important safety of life or under utilized playgrounds?
If we can’t use CRA bond money to build affordable housing (google CRA) and CAN use it to build a baseball field, why can’t we use it to repair bridges? I don’t like taking TARP MONEY
If we are able to come up with money will the county commissioners play the same game with the bids that they just tried to play. The “kings X” factor just doesn’t work. There was going to be a law suit and the only winners would be the lawyers. Staff tries to give the board input and information, but often there are told to go away the board has made up its mind. The PNJ was on target today about our board—-maybe it does need to be replaced.
“We” aren’t building a maritime park. The City of Pensacola is building the park. Escambia County, under whose maintenance these bridges fall, has nothing to do with the maritime park. The Federal government also has no responsibility to maintain bridges that were built by Escambia County. If you are going to point the finger and cast blame then get out a mirror and point away. We voters are responsible for the poor condition of roads in northern Escambia County by electing do-nothing fat cat commissioners time and time again.
What are you implying? I was agreeing with your post, I thought.
But to answer your question, no. Not because I don’t believe in them, but because I actually have a lifestyle that requires me to work.
“I guess they never counted on wasteful spending to the degree it has become.”
A blind man could see right through this statement! Been to any tea parties lately?
I bet these bridges were built by a generation who figured ‘routine upkeep and maintenance’ would be a no-brainer.
I guess they never counted on wasteful spending to the degree it has become.
This shows a lack of planning and foresight on the part of local and Federal Guvmint.
Since when did “build it and forget about it” become an acceptable construction tactic?
What scares me is “_________ Road, age unknown.” Could it be that the pictured bridge built in 1942 makes these “age unknown” bridges seem new?
Before they do anything on that bridge at Rigby rd. they need to do something about that dang driveway right up the hill thats obviously caused all the washout all over the road at the bottom of that hill.
Unbelieveable! I do agree that these old wooden bridges need to be redone, gosh just to think now after seeing when these were actually built scares me to even have to go across any of them now… Wow! These are some pretty old bridges to have lasted this long is wonderful, but one never knows when they might fall… That is scary!
OMG. Why are we building a maritime park when our bridges are like this? Who doesn’t driver over one of these?
Where is the bridge in the picture with the 1942? I hope it is on a road that is not that busy.
Wow. My kids will ride in their school bus over 6 wooden bridges this morning. That’s scary!