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I-75 Bridge On Fast Track To Reopening Next Week
News Channel 8 photo by PAUL LAMISON
Work on replacing the Interstate 75 bridge at U.S. 301 had been expected to take three weeks.
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Published: June 19, 2008
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ELLENTON You might be used to road projects that take months, even years.
How about three weeks?
Pretty much never, but when thousands of motorists were thrown into a tailspin after an Interstate 75 tanker crash that collapsed a bridge and turned the highway into an inferno June 4, the state hustled to get things back to normal as soon as possible.
By Wednesday, three weeks after the accident and three weeks before anyone predicted, the Interstate 75 and U.S. 301 interchange in northern Manatee County should be operating smoothly, with a new overpass built and new highway lanes constructed.
"When they said six weeks, I didn't believe it. I figured it would be a few months at least," said Rod Drake, 69, of Osprey, who was traveling northbound on I-75 and stopped off to pump gas in Ellenton.
Which leads to a burning question: Why can't all road projects get done so quickly?
Two reasons. One – surprise, surprise – is money. Almost around-the-clock work and near-immediate delivery of materials costs two to four times as much as doing projects at a regular pace, said Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman Cindy Clemmons-Adente.
The department hired Zep Construction of Fort Myers and awarded the company a $1.7 million job, but the cost is expected to be higher upon completion. Removing the damaged parts of the original bridge also was expected to cost $700,000, but likely will be more than $1 million when all is said and done, Clemmons-Adente said. The state also offered a $300,000 reward for early completion.
The other factor is circumstance. Because the accident was so severe and the damage so intense, a state of emergency was declared. That allowed the department to bypass certain bureaucratic procedures, such as extended bid reviews, that can bog down other road projects.
So almost immediately after the June 4 crash, the department was working on contracts to get a construction crew to the scene as soon as possible.
"This is not normal modus operandi," Clemmons-Adente said. "This was purely an emergency response."
The DOT also acted swiftly in 2007 when a tanker crash damaged an overpass on Interstate 375 in St. Petersburg, and in 2002 in the aftermath of a fuel tanker crash on the Veterans Expressway over Independence Parkway. In each case, work was completed within weeks.
The crash in Manatee County this month and the ensuing traffic problems diverted southbound drivers away from Interstate 75 and U.S. 301 for several days, with motorists taking time-consuming detours through Bradenton to avoid the highway.
About 83,000 drivers use that stretch of highway every day, according to an FDOT traffic study from 2007.
Southbound traffic was able to hit the highway again five days after the crash, but motorists were driving in northbound lanes that had been reconfigured to allow southbound traffic.
Officials expect new southbound lanes, which involved building a new bridge over U.S. 301, to be open for drivers by Monday. Traffic should be restored to three lanes in each direction by Tuesday.
By Wednesday, the merchants at Ellenton's Prime Outlets will be happy. That's when access to southbound I-75 will be reopened from U.S. 301, where the outlet shops are located.
"Getting to the center was no problem, but leaving the center presented problems," said spokeswoman Sarah Ozgun. "Right away, we were thrilled with the possibility that the construction would be finished in time for our Fourth of July sidewalk sale."
Information from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune was used in this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.
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