Escambia Bay Bridge
| Escambia Bay Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Carries | 6 lanes of  I-10 |
| Crosses | Escambia Bay |
| Locale | Escambia County / Santa Rosa County, near Pensacola, Florida, USA |
| Maintained by | Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) |
| ID number | 480213 (eastbound) 480214 (westbound) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Reinforced concrete girder bridge |
| Total length | 13,820 feet (4,212.3 meters) eastbound 13,736 feet (4,186.8 meters) westbound |
| Clearance below | 65 feet (19.8 meters) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1968 (original bridge) 2007 (current bridge) |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 50,000[1] |
The Escambia Bay Bridge is a six-lane freeway bridge that carries Interstate 10 across Escambia Bay near Pensacola, Florida.
History
The original four-lane bridge opened in 1968. It consisted of twin spans of two lanes each with no shoulders and was heavily damaged during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.[2] The storm surge knocked a total of 58 spans off the eastbound and westbound bridges and misaligned another 66 spans, causing the bridge to close to traffic in both directions.[3] Traffic normally destined for the bridge was rerouted along U.S. Highway 90 for over two months while temporary spans were built along the bridge's existing substructure, resulting in severe traffic jams. The original bridge, with its temporary spans, reopened in November 2004 with traffic reduced to one lane in each direction.
Construction on a new bridge to replace the one damaged by the hurricane began in early 2006. As the original bridge was left in place during construction, the new bridge was routed to the south and has a curved alignment near the beginning and end of each approach. Unlike the previous bridge, the new bridge features a total of six lanes (three eastbound and three westbound) as well as shoulders, modern barrier walls and lighting. The westbound portion of the bridge opened on December 12, 2007.[4]
The bridge connects the northern part of Florida with the Gulf Coast and is used by an estimated 50,000 vehicles per day.
Scenic Hwy. was also replaced by a new bridge in 2015.
References
- ↑ FDOT Florida Traffic Online Accessed May 25, 2011.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Buildings and structures in Escambia County, Florida
- Pensacola metropolitan area
- Buildings and structures in Santa Rosa County, Florida
- Road bridges in Florida
- Transportation in Escambia County, Florida
- Transportation in Santa Rosa County, Florida
- Interstate 10
- Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
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