JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (Note: The video above was originally published May 27.)
UPDATE: The southbound lanes of the Buckman Bridge will see permanent repairs beginning July 16, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting.
It was a traffic nightmare the likes not seen in Jacksonville in quite a while — all due to a stuck-up piece of steel.
Now permanent repairs to a damaged finger joint on the Buckman Bridge's Interstate 295 southbound lanes will begin in less than a week, says the Florida Department of Transportation.
On May 27 the Florida Highway Patrol noticed damage to the interlocking steel expansion joints at the top of the span, and the FDOT decided to do a full inspection. That began an eight-hour closure and detours of traffic onto Blanding Boulevard.
More roadwork updates: JEA sewer work, not road work, leads to Riverside Ave. detours
If you wanted to get across the St. Johns River, your options were to head south to Florida 16 and the Shands Bridge, or north to Interstate 95 and the Fuller Warren Bridge.
Now prepare for more jams again as the FDOT's permanent repairs take place over six consecutive weekends. The department says drivers should expect double lane closures on the bridge's southbound lanes from 9 p.m. Fridays through 5 a.m. Mondays. Two lanes will remain open each weekend, and all lanes will be open during weekday peak hours.
FYI — 125,500 vehicles a day use that interstate span, according to FDOT's average traffic count website. So while the work should be done in mid-August, motorists are encouraged to plan ahead and expect delays during each weekend's work.