Hurlburt, FDOT, Superior Construction repair pedestrian bridge

by Staff Sgt. Melanie Holochwost
1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs

5/2/2014 - HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- About a dozen workers from the Florida Department of Transportation and Superior Construction aided the 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron in restoring the pedestrian bridge on Hurlburt Field, Fla., April 30 through May 1, after a severe flood.

Storm water eroded a portion of the bridge's foundation at about 3 p.m. Thursday, which could have caused the bridge to shift or collapse, said Dan Wilcoxen, 1st SOCES military construction liaison.

FDOT, Superior Construction, and Hurlburt Field civil engineers worked together to fix the damage.

"Due to the uncertainty of the extent of the erosion, FDOT decided to close Highway 98 temporarily," Wilcoxen said. "With the rest of the local area affected, we were not sure where we would be able to source concrete, materials and crane support."

Although the weather conditions caused delays, the equipment arrived a few hours later and the team got to work.

"The relationship with FDOT has been outstanding," Wilcoxen said. "It's their responsibility to maintain the safety on Highway 98, so they worked quickly with us and supported the repair with anything they could offer.

"In fact, all the work performed to backfill the bridge foundation erosion and the coordination of the crane delivery was done by FDOT's contractor, Superior Construction, who is also working on the new overpass project," he added.

Highway 98 was fully reopened at about 11:45 p.m.

"There is still some work to be done, but the overall fix was determined safe at about 9 a.m. the next morning by FDOT's bridge engineer," Wilcoxen said.

Col. Bill West, 1st Special Operations Wing commander, said the team adapted and overcame every obstacle.

"I'm impressed by how fast we got it done," West said.

During the incident, FDOT and 1st SOCES engineer assistants performed surveys of the bridge foundation.

"It's documented that the structure never moved or settled," Wilcoxen said. "We are planning to perform recurring surveys in the coming months to confirm that the repair is remaining effective."