FDOT repairs I-75 overpass

EAST COUNTY — Traffic came to a standstill for hours around the interchange of University Parkway and Interstate 75 Monday, after a truck carrying pile-driving equipment on southbound I-75 lost its roughly 1,000-pound load and caused masses of concrete to plummet to the roadway below.

Upon arriving on scene shortly after 11:48 a.m., Florida Highway Patrol troopers began work to redirect traffic around the interchange. Florida Department of Transportation engineers began evaluating the overpass’s structural integrity within hours of the incident, as well.

“It’s pretty signifiant damage to the overpass itself,” said Lauren Hatchell, who left the overpass just minutes before the concrete pieces fell and who represents the FDOT on a current sidewalk project under the overpass.

By Tuesday morning, the inside southbound lane of I-75 over University Parkway had been reopened to traffic, as had University Parkway underneath the overpass.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, construction crews poured new deck in areas where the concrete had been removed.

Middle and southbound lanes on I-75 were slated to reopen to traffic Wednesday afternoon, after the East County Observer went to press.

The FDOT had been working to install a sidewalk on the north side of the road under the overpass at University Parkway since October, at which time Florida Safety Contractors began installing a sidewalk in state right-of-way. Crews were working to construct a gravity wall under the overpass at the time of the incident.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected]