FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – After closing twelve beach walkovers that were deemed unsafe, the city of Fernandina Beach hopes to have six of them reopened by Memorial Day weekend.
The city recently decided to close the wooden walkovers after an engineering firm it hired found significant corrosion in the nuts, washers and bolt heads holding them together.
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City Manager Dale Martin anticipates the necessary repairs and replacement work could cost about $1 million to $1.5 million, City Commissioner Mike Lednovich wrote on Facebook.
Lednovich said the city is prioritizing work on the walkways that can be repaired quickly, so they can be reopened as soon as possible. He added that bids are out for two walkovers.
The city paid Gilette & Associates $4,800 to survey the state of its 27 beach walkovers because it had never performed a comprehensive study of them before.
The firm’s survey found that of the 27 walkovers evaluated, 12 were not safe for use. They include 38, 35S, 6N, 4N, 10, 27, 28, 29, 30, 36, 39, and 40.