C Street Bridge Worse than Minneapolis Bridge

The August 1 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis calls for review of bridge integrity in Cedar Key. In May 2006 the Florida Department of Transportation inspected Levy County bridges on C Street, Gulf Boulevard and Airport Road. All three were declared "structurally deficient." The ratings of those bridges mandated re-inspection in May 2007.

The 2007 inspections revealed serious deficiencies in the deck, superstructure and substructures of all three bridges. With a rating scale of 10 as best and 1 as requiring immediate closure, the substructure of the C Street bridge, the approach to Dock Street, was rated 3. That is a poorer rating than given the recently collapsed Minneapolis bridge.

Airport Road bridge railing in August 2006. Note loose reinforcement rod.

The Gulf Boulevard bridge was rated 4 for deck and superstructure and 6 for substructure.The Airport Road bridge substructure was rated 4 while the deck and superstructure were sixes. That indicates that the substructure is worse than the railings. A photograph published in the August 18, 2006 Cedar Key News showed the deteriorated or missing railing of the Airport Road bridge. Levy County officials subsequently posted signs prohibiting fishing from the bridge.

The Florida Department of Transportation Information Officer told Cedar Key News that there are no projects scheduled for Cedar Key bridges in the next five years. She added that the bridge inspection reports have been sent to Levy County officials. A spokesman for the Levy County Road Department said that the County hopes to obtain funding for bridge repair within the next year following requests to two senators.