The Ortega Bridge, which has been inoperable periodically in recent months due to repeated malfunction, will be closed for more than 144 days starting in August.
The state Department of Transportation is forging ahead with plans for a $3.6 million project that will take 425 days — plus additional time for
weather and other unforeseen complications. Officials said about 33 percent of the contract time will require the bridge to be fully closed to automobiles,
pedestrians and bicyclists.
The first bridge closure is expected to begin Aug. 23, according to FDOT spokesman Mike Goldman, although the date was subject to change.
The initial closure will last 45 days.
“This is a major bridge rehab,” he said, indicating that the project was a mechanical, electrical and structural rehabilitation. “It’s unusual for a bridge to have that many malfunctions.”
The bridge was closed 12 different times between June 11 and July 19 for two-hour periods. On June 11, the bridge was closed for nearly nine hours. The problem? Extreme heat has been expanding metal on the bridge making it impossible to close the span properly, Goldman explained.
Ortega Bridge up for major repairs FDOT braces for prolonged detours, closure
Goldman said information flyers would be mailed out to immediate neighbors of the bridge and electronic signs would be going up in August indicating dates and detours. Traffic will be forced to use the Roosevelt Bridge to cross the
Ortega River.
The recent challenges have been particularly unusual because the bridge underwent a $2.6 million overhaul in 1996. That work, which lasted three months, included the replacement of the entire steel bascule span as well as new
machinery and controls. The bridge was built in 1927.
Yet to be seen is how the bridge closure will affect local businesses, churches, schools and residents — many of whom use the bridge daily.
“I am sad to hear that — I prefer this bridge even it it’s sometimes out of the way because
I like the slower pace and the beautiful view rather than the rush, rush of Highway 17,” said Gina Donahoo, an attorney and mother who lives on nearby McGirts Boulevard and travels the Ortega Bridge daily. “When the bridge goes up, it’s almost like a reminder to slow down and enjoy our incredible surroundings.”
