Main Street Bridge inspected after concrete falls

Concrete chunks fall from bridge onto Southbank Riverwalk

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a scary moment for runners and walkers Monday under the Main Street Bridge when chunks of concrete fell onto the Southbank Riverwalk.

Inspectors were at the bridge Tuesday morning, making sure everything is structurally safe.

Some who walk under the bridge every day were concerned.

"It's a little bit scary. We walk this quite a bit," Carroll Walsh said.

"It was surprising. I wasn't aware of it," Larry Blackford said. "We come through every day, and I wouldn't want it to fall on me."

The incident also surprised Ron Tittle of the Florida Department of Transportation.

"It was surprising when I saw the picture and then the blue paint, so you know it had to come from the bridge, but I'm just thankful it didn't impact people," Tittle said.

Tittle was inspecting the bridge Tuesday after he heard about the crumbling concrete. But he said he is sure that the bridge is structurally sound, and inspectors are not concerned about the safety of the bridge.

He compared the bridge to an old house. It doesn't meet today's standards, so it needs to be maintained, kept up, painted and fixed when things break, he said.

"It was nothing. We just inspected the bridge over this past weekend," Tittle said. "It was some of the routine inspections, so the structure of the bridge we knew was safe."

Tittle said vibrations likely caused the concrete to crumble and fall. The bridge was visibly chipped along the edges on Tuesday.

FDOT said inspectors were out Tuesday morning, chipping away the loose concrete on the bridge to remove any further hazard for drivers and pedestrians.

Tittle said inspectors will continue to keep an eye on the bridge, and they have contracted for more repair work to be done on it.

Officials ask anyone who notices something out of the ordinary on the bridge to let FDOT know as soon as possible. Issues can be reported to 850-414-4100 or emailed to fdot.pio@dot.state.fl.us.