Right now it’s a bumpy ride for drivers going over the Cortez Bridge.
That’s because the most recent phase of the maintenance and repair project is underway on the aging and eroding bridge. And the Florida Department of Transportation wants to make sure drivers take caution while crossing.
Currently construction crews are installing 12 new expansion bearings in the bridge and to do this they need to lift each span making the bridge a little uneven. FDOT ensures safety is not an issue.
And they are warning drivers to slow down and use caution. FDOT has installed large electronic warning signs near both entrances to the bridge.
FDOT says the project, which runs about a half a mile from State Road 684/Cortez Road to SR 789/Gulf Drive, is being completed at a cost of about $4 million. Built in 1956, the 2,617-foot bridge carries traffic from the village of Cortez to Anna Maria Island.
Joshua Satterfield drives over the bridge ever day to get to work. He said it’s not a fun drive.
"It’s just like an elongated pothole," Satterfield said. "(It's) pretty much what you are driving over."
The 12 new expansion barring should be installed by mid-November after that motorists could expect a smoother drive.
When this phase of the project is complete crews will finish repairing beams under and on the sides of the bridge.
The entire repair project is slated to be completed in 2015.