The Escambia Bay Bridge is a six-lane freeway

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that carries Interstate 10 (I-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 Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlant ...

in 2004. 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. A $26.5 million dollar project was awarded to Gilbert Southern/Massman and the Parsons Corporation to make emergency repairs to the bridge. Traffic normally destined for the bridge was rerouted along U.S. Route 90 (US 90, exit 17) for over two months while temporary spans were built along the bridge's existing substructure, resulting in severe traffic jams. The westbound spans were completed and opened to traffic on October 4, 7 days ahead of schedule, while the eastbound spans were completed and opened to traffic on November 20, 66 days after Ivan made landfall and 27 days ahead of schedule. Both contractors received $1.5 million in bonuses for the early completion. 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. The bridge connects the northern part of Florida with the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

and is used by an estimated 50,000 vehicles per day. The Scenic Highway bridge that runs over and perpendicular to the I-10 bridge (seen running left to right at the very bottom of the above picture) was also replaced by a new bridge in 2015.

References

External links

Escambia Bay Bridge Reopens to TrafficFlorida Army National Guard Secures Escambia Bay Bridge
{{Bridges of Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Escambia County, Florida Pensacola metropolitan area Transportation buildings and structures in Santa Rosa County, Florida Road bridges in Florida Interstate 10 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System 1968 establishments in Florida Concrete bridges in the United States Girder bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1968 Bridges completed in 2007

History

See also

References

External links