JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It was loud, fiery and explosive. Action News' cameras were there on the ground and in the air to capture the explosion that neighbors were complaining about last Thursday.
The Florida Department of Transportation has hired Archer Western and Applied Foundation Testing to conduct a statnamic test, or load test, as part of the Overland Bridge project.
The device puts 2,000 tons of pressure on a foundation, underground, to see if the foundation can withstand the weight of a ramp FDOT is hoping to build.
That ramp would help defuse traffic on the Fuller Warren Bridge.
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On Wednesday, FDOT completed their third and final test in San Marco. Our cameras captured the moment the device sent flames and smoke shooting into the air, just above the Overland Bridge.
"When you look at the sensors and all that they have on the test, it gives them the true information about how this foundation can support the structure that's going to be built on there," said Ron Tittle, spokesman for FDOT.
If all goes well with this test, FDOT hopes to build that ramp in the next two years. According to FDOtT, The entire project costs $160 million and should be complete by summer of 2016.
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