JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Answering hard questions in the wake of the fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis this week, officials with the Florida Department of Transportation offered assurances that Jacksonville's seven largest spans are safe.

Channel 4's Jim Piggott said we'll have to take their word for it because the records of bridge inspections are no longer public record.

"The bridge inspections are a high priority, if not the most important priority," FDOT spokesman Mike Goldman said.

The Main Street Bridge was built in 1941 was renovated in 2004 at a cost of $12 million. It is scheduled is to begin on Sunday, requiring some lane closures through Wednesday.

The Mathews Bridge was built in 1953. A resurfacing project was just completed and it is also due for inspection beginning this weekend. That process could take up to a month.

The 40-year-old Hart Bridge is scheduled for a $14.5 million repainting job -- and it's not just to make it look better.

"There is a safety issue involved with that," Goldman said. "If you don't paint that bridge, corrosions could occur and some structural deficiencies could occur."

The Dames Point Bridge opened 1989 and is currently being repainted. A complete inspection will be conducted when the painting is done.

The Buckman Bridge was built in 1970. An extra span was added in 1997. Transportation officials said it was scheduled for an inspection in April 2009.

The new Acosta Bridge opened in 1994. It is scheduled for inspection next year.

The new Fuller Warren Bridge was completed in 2002. Officials said an inspection of this span is currently under way.

While state guidelines call for inspections every two years, Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday asked FDOT for a report on the status of every bridge in the state. Officials said they will provide a summary of past inspections, not reinspect the 11,553 bridges in the Florida.

FDOT said they have learned a lot about bridges in Jacksonville after a 1992 accident on the Main Street Bridge in which a driver died.

As the draw bridge was open for boat traffic, a car went off the bridge into the river when the warning lights and arms failed. Since the state attorney's investigation blamed DOT procedures, transportation officials ramped up inspections of all local bridges.

But after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the state stopped allowing the media or the public to review bridge inspection reports.

"I always wondered if Jacksonville is maintaining the bridges," one motorist crossing the Fuller Warren Bridge said on Friday. "There are some that are smaller and lower that have been noted, but still they are going to give out."