Lane Out For Ground Inspection Under Stevenson Creek Bridge

Drivers should use caution near Douglas Avenue and the Stevenson Creek Bridge.

Flagmen will control traffic while the lane is closed from about 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday while crews inspect the ground beneath the bridge.

Dorothee Morrow, who works in the city's traffic engineering department, said crews will use ground penetrating radar to see what the problem is under the soil.

“This way they’ll get to know exactly what it’s like there,” Morrow said. “What kind of void is under there.”

State bridge inspectors checked out the 44 year old bridge recently and “noticed something unusual” with the ramp coming onto the bridge, Morrow said.

Inspectors said the bridge is functionally obsolete and gave it a health index rating of 70.30 in January, according to Florida Department of Transportation records.

The health index is a rating of about 12 bridge factors and a rating below 85 means repairs are needed. It does not mean the bridge is unsafe though.

Functionally obsolete means the bridge does not meet current road standards including having narrow lanes.

The repair work will be done another time probably within the next six months Morrow said.

Call (727) 562-4776.