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I-75 Overpass Repairs In Hernando To Take 3 Weeks

Hernando Today photo by BOB EAST III

This dump truck severely damaged the Interstate 75 overpass at State Road 50 in Hernando County on Tuesday.

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By KYLE MARTIN | Hernando Today
and RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2008

Updated: 12/12/2008 11:42 am

No charges will be filed against the driver of a Mack truck that smashed into an Interstate 75 overpass at State Road 50 in Hernando County on Tuesday afternoon.

Likewise, the Florida Highway Patrol found no criminal fault with the company for which William J. Lindsay, 56, was driving, W. Clyde Daniel Construction of Brooksville.

We "couldn't prove one way or the other that someone was negligent," said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, a highway patrol spokesman.

The construction company likely will be on the hook, however, for the $500,000 construction tab, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. Repairs are expected to take three weeks.

Drivers on southbound Interstate 75 in Hernando County will face delays for two weeks until the overpass can be repaired.

The Department of Transportation and Hernando County have closed one of two southbound lanes and installed temporary concrete barriers at State Road 50.

Officials had planned to keep both southbound lanes open but decided to close one to speed up repairs. Work is expected to be completed this month.

On Tuesday, a dump truck crashed into the concrete beams that support the overpass at Exit 301. Traffic was halted for hours until the accident could be cleared and officials could assess the damage.

Two replacement beams are scheduled to be delivered by early next week; then cement for the bridge surface will be poured.

"The DOT and our contractor are working as quickly as possible, even in the rain, to get the repairs done so we can restore back two lanes in the southbound direction," Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Carson said.

Traffic on State Road 50 remains open -- two lanes in each direction -- but workers might close one periodically. All ramps to and from I-75 remain open.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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