FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:            Scott Gilbertson, Lee County Department of Transportation
                         (941) 479-858

LEE FIXING CRACKED BEAM ON SANIBEL CAUSEWAY/
HEAVY TRUCKS SPEED WILL BE RESTRICTED

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 8, 2003) – Lee County’s Transportation Department has discovered a cracked beam on the middle bridge of the Sanibel Causeway that will require heavy trucks to reduce their speed while the beam is being fixed.

The middle bridge is between the drawbridge on the Punta Rassa side of the causeway and the last bridge leading onto Sanibel Island.

Trucks heavier than 10 tons will have to travel at a speed of 10 miles-per-hour or less as they cross the middle bridge beginning immediately.  The county – which discovered the cracked beam Monday through routine inspection and repairs and has been monitoring closely since then – is currently lining up a law enforcement agency to enforce the reduced speed.

The beam is one of the concrete girders that hold up the bridge deck.  The county already has reinforced the beam with a steel column, however it also wants to place steel columns at the quarter points of the beam.  Parts are on order right now and depending on availability and shipping schedules, this work could be done by Friday night, however it could take longer.

After that, as a temporary fix until the bridge is rebuilt (scheduled within five years), the county will place “crutch bents” under the roadway to help reinforce the beams.

The repair work should not affect traffic, as it will be done underneath the bridge.  However, traffic will be slowed depending on truck traffic across the causeway.  Message boards are being place on both ends of the causeway to notify motorists of the speed restrictions.  The Transportation Department is taking this action in the abundance of caution to ensure motorist safety across the causeway.

The Transportation Department will issue continuing updates on the status of the repairs.