Bridge Over Sebastian Inlet to be Replaced
By Greg Pallone Brevard County
PUBLISHED October 7, 2019 @6:15 PM


BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A decades-old bridge linking Brevard and Indian counties will be replaced after it was damaged in Hurricane Dorian.

Sebastian Inlet bridge to be replaced.

The decades-old bridge was damaged in Hurricane Dorian.

A new bridge could cost upwards of $11 million.

The half-mile bridge over Sebastian Inlet dates back to the mid-1960s.

An FDOT post-storm inspection revealed it's structurally deficient, and must be replaced within the next six years.

Officials say it's still safe to drive over at this point.

A new bridge could cost upwards of $11 million, and include new bike lanes which the old one doesn't have.

In the meantime, during construction, commuters will have to drive an estimated 40 extra miles around from Melbourne to Vero Beach.

"If it's got to get done, it's got to get done," says Lorena Loucel of West Melbourne, who drives down this way frequently. "Safety comes first. I hope the bridge gets done quickly and back on track."

Just south of the bridge, a $5 million restoration project is underway to fix issues to State Road A1A caused by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

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Dora Hates You

I love how they followup "I hope the bridge gets done quickly" with the fact that repair work from Matthew is just now getting started.

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R I P Mama G.

@Salt.And.Savagery.Fishing

@Laserwolf.Laserwolf

Edited: 10/10/2019 at 08:07 AM by Long Beard

LOL no kidding.

and you know they will have that bridge closed off for at least a year..

2024 will be a real pain in the ass hahaa

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When America was "great"

My family built that bridge. Our family construction company. My dad and my uncles. Very proud of it. My dad was most proud of
Figuring out how to pour the concrete in that current. Helicopters. Cleary brothers construction in 1965.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Inlet_Bridge

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Thats pretty cool

Thats gonna make for a very quiet year here on the very south beaches! Might have to invest in a pontoon boat and do shuttles from the tidal pool to the boat ramps.

Didn't they shut it down for awhile several yrs ago. IIRC, kept the crowd to a minimum both in the water and on the jetty.
I wouldn't complain!

No complaints here! Yea, they shut it down for hours at a time on certain days, but they had one of those electronic signs saying when it would be. Its crazy to think if it was shut down for an entire year. It will be a ghost town down here.

So all the South FL surfers will have to go all the way around from mainland at Melbourne? But we lose straight access to Wabasso? Fair enough, not looking forward to the drive south on US1 during the windy season....they better triple that budget..the $5 mil they used for A1a near the bridge was for a small job compared to the bridge...

Edited: 10/09/2019 at 11:48 AM by SurferMic

This is very bad news for those who fish the south side of the inlet regularly like myself... not stoked on the news at all

Or for those of us that use the boat ramps. Will have to put in at inlet marina or longpoint.

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So who here has jumped off the bridge? I did once with the Drazich Brothers. The three of us were up there looking down and wondering who is going first. Sam says to me I'll buy you a coke if you go first, so I did. I dropped straight down without jumping out, landed perfect, arms down at my side and went deep like a bullet. Sam and George followed the same way, no injuries from any of us. Off course this was not very smart, we could have been injured and I do not recommend doing this to anybody. We were young and foolish. Some weeks later sitting out at first peak waiting for a set, we see people up on the bridge. One of them was GP and he must of actually jumped out off the bridge and you could see his legs swinging forward. When he hit the water you could here it from first peak. I do not think he was injured either (seriously anyway), but I'm sure it hurt.
The good old days.

GP?

Gary Paul?

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Dora Hates You

Heard that.

The update is that it will begin in six years and cost more than $50 million.



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I was right.

Same story here. The boat ramp is on that side too. It's easy enough to put in somewhere else but I have an annual pass and I like fishing from land more than the boat most times when I'm solo. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I'm sure the north side will be a madhouse for fishing though, even more than it already is. But I like the solitude you can get on the south jetty and beach sometimes. I can't imagine 6 years without it but I don't think I want to add however many miles it is to go around via car.

Maybe they can build the new one with the old one standing.

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Replace turf grass with native plants that don't need irrigation and synthetic fertilizers or chemicals that can go into our waterways and ocean

That's what I thought initially. However, from the OP's post, it seems like they are stating otherwise. I hope so.

See a problem, solve a problem, make a few bucks. Someone should contact a ferry to come down for the year. There are four licensed ferry companies in Florida. Licensed were Havana Ferry Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Baja Ferries of Miami, United Caribbean Lines Florida of Greater Orlando and Airline Brokers Co. of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

confused

6 years before they start



and it will take 6 years to build????



something is wrong
maybe 6 years before they start but 6 years to build ???

[IMG]https://media3.giphy.com/media/104UnLyTpxo28o/giphy.gif[/IMG]

Edited: 10/12/2019 at 09:33 AM by HAPDigital