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Inspectors suggested Causeway repairs last May

The repairs could have prevented the bridge's problems last week, but the state Department of Transportation and a private company decided against the fix.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published May 16, 2005

CLEARWATER - Inspectors a year ago suggested routine repairs to the drawbridge of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway that may have prevented the mishap that blocked traffic to the barrier islands three nights last week.

But both the Florida Department of Transportation and the company that maintains the bridge decided against the fix, according to the reports obtained by the St. Petersburg Times.

The repair would have required the bridge to be closed for two hours, an FDOT engineer said Monday. The bridge was forced to close to traffic three nights last week when a 600-pound pin that connects portions of the drawbridge fell into Clearwater Harbor.

Officials stressed that the bridge is safe for travelers, saying work crews do less non-critical maintenance on bridges that are nearing replacement, like Clearwater's.

"If you're going to buy a new car, you may leave your tires on an extra 10,000 miles," said Pepe Garcia, an FDOT structures engineer.

The repair may have been made anyway, Garcia said, though he said he had no knowledge whether it had been.

The inspection report, prepared in May 2004 by engineering consulting firm Volkert & Associates, said the drawbridge shook too much when vehicles passed over and that the connections between the halves of the bridge should be strengthened.

It said bolts in pieces of the connections were either loose or missing. The report suggested minor repairs.

But later, FDOT and ICA, the company that maintains all of the area's state bridges, decided not to do the work. Instead, they noted the area should be monitored.

Of the more than 40 maintenance items recommended in the report, less than half were actually ordered to be performed. Some that were neglected were aesthetic - painting the sidewalk, cleaning the steel drawbridge. Others were not.

Last week, a five-inch round bolt that holds the much larger pin in place broke loose.

Garcia said Monday the excessive movement of the drawbridge could have caused the malfunction. He did not rule out other possibilities.

"I don't have all the facts," said Garcia, who said ICA would most likely have to pay the costs to reinsert the pin. "You can tolerate some movement, you cannot avoid that. But as wear and tear takes place, as (guides) get loose, you may have more (movement) than you expect, more than you want to tolerate."

Garcia said he expected to meet with ICA to discuss how the bridge was maintained. Officials from that company directed questions on the bridge to FDOT, saying their contract prohibited them from commenting.

The 600-pound pin broke away as the drawbridge opened for a boat about 4:30 p.m. last Tuesday. Falling from a height of at least 20 feet, the pin could have significantly damaged a vessel if it had been passing underneath, Garcia said.

For vehicles, the problem created a traffic nightmare.

Cars were redirected on a 10-mile detour using the Belleair Causeway, creating backlogs through several intersections on either side of the Clearwater Harbor.

The bridge is Pinellas County's most heavily traveled route to the barrier islands, with 35,500 vehicles crossing each day, according to the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization.

A new, taller bridge is under construction and scheduled to open in September, after more than a year's worth of delays.

-- Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 16, 2005, 18:12:02]