Giant beams, some weighing more than 120 tons, are being hauled in from Tallahassee to finish a much-needed new and improved Sisters Creek Bridge in North Jacksonville.
But the transport and installation of the oversized load is causing major delays in an area where there’s only one way in and one way out.
Around lunch time Monday, the backup stretched for miles. Some drivers waited around an hour.
The more than 120-ton reason was up ahead as crews hauled in the massive beams.
“They'll get into the Jacksonville area around midday and then we have to get them up to the bridge by 3 p.m.,” said David Fierro, Florida Department of Transportation public information officer.
Around 45 of those beams will be hauled over the next couple of weeks in order to finish up the Sisters Creek Bridge project.
It’ll replace the current drawbridge, built in the 1950s. FDOT said the $44 million project will make it more convenient for both land and marine traffic.
“It'll be a high-rise bridge; it'll be a 65-foot vertical clearance for marine traffic to be able to go under it,” said Fierro.
For the next two weeks, crews will work from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. installing the beams.
If you need to travel through Heckscher Drive in the overnight hours, be aware there’s a good chance you’ll have to wait or take a detour.
“A lot of hassle right now, but it'll be fine down the road,” said driver Darryl Kinman.
The FDOT said the new bridge will also help during hurricane evacuations because of its height, -- traffic can flow uninterrupted by a drawbridge.
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