What can happen next!
Martin County and the City of Stuart have had their problems of late. In 2020, we have had the COVID-19 pandemic which began in February resulting in a shutdown of the economy whose effects are still reverberating. We now have our own version of “London Bridge is falling down.”
The New Roosevelt Bridge on Federal Highway has been closed due to possible corrosion of the cables that secure the bridge between spans. The bridge may look like a work of concrete, but underneath it is still an old fashion suspension bridge. And it is a new bridge having officially opened in 1996. The Old Roosevelt Bridge is the drawbridge on Dixie that is also closed because the “New” Bridge could collapse and fall on the original.
Stuart PD is completely cut off from patrolling its northern neighborhoods. The Sheriff’s office is picking up that slack. Yet if you have a heart attack north of the bridge, how do you get to the hospital? Fire/Rescue will have to take you to St. Lucie County. State Senator Gayle Harrell told me that she and other officials would like to have the bridge opened to emergency vehicles. Our City, County and State officials are waiting to hear from FDOT.
Florida Department of Transportation is currently performing a detailed inspection to determine the extent of the damage. That will probably take a few weeks. The Bridge has an interior causeway to allow golf cart type vehicles go into the interior of the bridge for inspections and to do partial maintenance.
The bridge was built in prefabricated sections that were then joined on site. Did this way of construction contribute to the problem in a bridge that is less than 25 years old? It is no Parisian Pont Neuf (1607), it is not even New York’s Brooklyn Bridge (1883). I once walked over the Queensborough Bridge (1909) during a subway strike. I have a picture in our den of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (1937).
Except for the Pont Neuf, all the bridges I named are suspension bridges. Using modern standards of engineering for the times, they were still overbuilt to allow redundancy. At the time of their construction, the science was not as exact as it is in our modern world. Those bridge builders used more cement in their caissons, steel in their walkways and cables holding it all together. Modernity gave us the New Roosevelt Bridge engineered to greater tolerance, using new construction techniques, and not a spare bolt anywhere.
The one good thing that this shows the citizens of Martin County is that our legislative delegation, County and City governments work well together to solve crises as they arise. Last week, Senator Harrell, Representatives Overdorf and Magar, and the County Commission and staff all responded to the Hobe Hills flooding. They are currently working on a plan to obtain funds to purchase the most vulnerable homes in that area.
What the bridge fiasco should show everyone is that our infrastructure is important. The months this may take to be resolved will be a hardship that could result in further economic disruption. I live on the south side of the bridge and until there is a pain free way of doing so, I will not go to the mall, Target, Total Wine or BJs. My dentist is in north Stuart and I have an appointment next week. A normal five-minute drive will now require perhaps 40 hours or more.
From COVID-19 to the bridge, our quality of life has been affected. We may emerge stronger as a community, but I know we are different than before. How those differences affect us will be how we move forward.