JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Action News is getting your questions answered about why the Mathews Bridge is still closed, even though the weather seems to be improving.
We learned it's not the bridge that's the problem. The problem is that high winds damaged a platform built over the lanes of the bridge for maintenance workers. And in the area where the decking is damaged, there were support cables that were damaged as well.
"The reason we can't open up the bridge is because we would be exposing drivers to danger," said D.O.T. Spokesman Mike Goldman.
Goldman told us maintenance workers have been using the platform to paint and repair the bridge. It's the same kind of work that was done on the Hart Bridge recently. But unlike the Hart Bridge project, a platform system was erected on the Mathews, so traffic could flow underneath it.
"The reason we came up with this system is to minimize the detours and the lane closures," said Goldman.
But Beryl's high winds were too strong for platform to withstand. And Goldman says it's still too windy to get workers up there to fix it. So right now, the D.O.T. is at the mercy of mother nature. "If the wind subsides, we could get it open by tomorrow morning," said Goldman.
Goldman doesn't expect the damage to cause that much of a delay with the project as a whole. Work wasn't scheduled over the holiday weekend, and the D.O.T. plans for weather delays.
