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Crews scramble to fix bridge for morning rush

Divers and others were working overnight on the bridge used by thousands each day.

By ALEX LEARY and MEGAN SCOTT
Published May 11, 2005

CLEARWATER - Divers, engineers and bridge crews worked at a feverish pace early today to repair the Memorial Causeway bridge and head off a rush-hour nightmare.

A 600-pound locking pin that holds the two spans of bridge together fell into the water Tuesday afternoon.

Because the pin stabilizes the two spans for vehicle traffic, officials were forced to keep the bridge in an upright position, causing massive traffic jams.

"The traffic is horrible," complained Douglas Lunderville, in town from San Francisco for a conference at the Clearwater Beach Hilton. "There are events we should be attending, but we can't get back over."

Divers searched the water beneath the 40-year-old bridge for more than an hour before finding the 6-foot-long steel pin about 9 p.m., easing concerns about a complicated nighttime hunt.

But as the new day approached, crews faced numerous challenges to fix the bridge, which connects Clearwater and Clearwater Beach and handles 28,000 cars a day.

First the pin had to be retrieved from the water with a crane. As of 11 p.m., the pin was still in the water.

The pin also needed to be inspected for cracks or other problems. If okay, it still had to be slid back into position and secured.

At best, the repair could take six to 12 hours, said Pepe Garcia, an engineer for the state Department of Transportation.

Garcia said it was uncertain whether the bridge would be open by early this morning.

"It's difficult to pinpoint a time. We don't want to give false hopes to people."

When opened for vehicular traffic, the two spans of the bridge, called bascule leaves, are locked in place by two 6-foot-long pins. To raise the bridge, the pins retract, allowing the spans to go up.

The ordeal began about 4:30 p.m. when the drawbridge raised to allow a boat to pass. As the spans neared the top of their ascent, one of the 6-foot-long pins fell into the water. A support designed to prevent such an accident had apparently sheared off.

"With time, things wear out," Garcia said.

What normally is a small delay for motorists quickly became a maddening wait at the height of rush hour.

"Traffic was extremely heavy, and some out-of-towners panicked when they saw that the bridge was closed, thinking they would not be able to get back to their hotels," said Lt. George Koder of the Clearwater Police Department.

Motorists who were exiting or entering the beach were forced to use the Sand Key bridge and the Belleair Causeway span.

Pedestrians also were stymied.

Mikah Gore was trying to walk across the bridge to the Seabreeze Restaurant. The homeless man was hoping to get his old job back.

"The bridge is closed? I had no idea," he said. "I guess I'll have to wait and go tomorrow."

The bridge could have been lowered without the locking pin. But the vibration of cars could cause the leaves to move up and down, causing strain.

"I don't know if you would get structure failure but you could have damage to the mechanical systems, hydraulic systems, and so on," Garcia said. "You want to err on the side of caution."

Three divers were dispatched about 7:30 p.m. to search for the pin.

DOT officials were confident they would find it quickly, given the size.

"It's not something someone can swim off with," Garcia joked.

The effort was helped along by the contractor building the replacement bridge alongside the current bridge. PCL Civil Constructors provided a barge and crane.

Assuming the pin is in working condition, the bridge could be fully restored to working condition some time today, officials said.

If not, a temporary solution would have to be developed before the bridge can be reopened to traffic.

But that would create another transportation snag: The bridge could not be raised for boats. The U.S. Coast Guard said it would broadcast updates about the bridge to mariners.

Construction of the new bridge began in early 2002 and has not been an easy process.

The $69-million state project has been stalled by construction problems, including cracked columns, and bickering between the builder and state over how it should be repaired.

It is now scheduled for completion on Sept. 1.

For now, the old bridge continues to bear the load.

This is not the first time a pin has fallen out of place, officials said, though officials could not remember precisely the last time.

Amid the frustration of a fast-paced repair, state officials were reminded how it all could have been avoided:

The section of bridge that failed was scheduled for a regular inspection today.

To check on the status of the Memorial Causeway bridge, call up this Web site: http://www.511tampabay.com

[Last modified May 11, 2005, 00:47:09]