JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Part of Edgewood Avenue was closed Tuesday morning after a crane caught fire under the portion of the road that crosses above the Norfolk Southern railyard, according to an alert from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The fire potentially damaged the bridge and Florida Department of Transportation crews were on the scene to inspect it. Edgewood Avenue was shut down near New Kings Road in both directions.
As of 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, the northbound lanes were reopened, but the southbound lanes remained closed as crews worked to inspect the overpass.
The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department spokesperson says firefighters could see exposed rebar and were worried about the condition of the concrete because the overpass was scalded by the fire. He says flames were shooting 40 feet high onto the overpass.
There's no word yet on what caused the fire but the JFRD spokesperson says a rail crane broke down underneath the overpass and ended up catching fire before or after breaking.
JFRD's hazmat and biohazard teams responded. Firefighters put out the fire quickly in five to 10 minutes, but had to stay on the scene because of hydraulic and diesel fuel on ground. Nobody was hurt.
Thirty thousand people drive across the bridge every day, according to FDOT.
This is the second time in four months there has been a fire within two miles of this stretch of railroad. In November there was a fire near Soutel Drive.
The spokesperson for FDOT says it's standard practice for them to close the bridge to inspect it. There's no word on when it will reopen.
First Coast News reached out to Norfolk Southern Railroad with questions and got this response:
"First, we want to let everyone know no one was injured. We’re grateful for Jacksonville Fire & Rescue’s quick response to the scene, and the fire is out. The Florida Department of Transportation is on-site inspecting the Edgewood Ave bridge and we are assisting them with whatever access they need to our facility to quickly accomplish that.
Last night's fire is still under investigation, making the release of any additional details premature at this point. Norfolk Southern's top focus is safety, and the incident will be fully investigated. The previous incident you mentioned was a fire of undetermined cause in the engine compartment. At this moment, there is nothing to tie the two incidents together aside from the fact that they are both cranes."