Las Olas bridge to open this evening

By Dorie Cox

UPDATE: Feb. 7
As of 6:30 p.m. today, the Las Olas Boulevard and Commercial Boulevard bridges over the Intercoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale are opening one leaf only for marine traffic on their normal opening schedules. Emergency maintenance repairs continue at both bridges.

ORIGINAL POST: Feb. 4
East Las Olas Boulevard Bridge is closed to navigation over the Intracoastal Waterway as of Sunday, Feb. 3.

The bridge is open to vehicle traffic and expected to reopen Wednesday, Feb. 6, or Thursday, Feb. 7. The bridge is north of Hall of Fame Marina and Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale.

The closure stemmed from issues discovered during repairs on the Atlantic Avenue bridge, according to Barbara Kelleher, district public information director of Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 4. FDOT owns and maintains the bridges.

“When workers got in to repair it [Atlantic Avenue bridge] they discovered bolts had failed,” Kelleher said. “After researching, they preemptively checked other bridges of the same design and discovered suspicious areas.”

That prompted the Las Olas bridge closure, Kelleher said.

“Over the weekend, there were emergency mechanical repairs on the Las Olas Bridge. It is not moving now. Workers are replacing bolts to hold machinery in place.”

Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) states that the Atlantic Avenue (SR 806) drawbridge, located at mile 1039.6 on the ICW in Delray Beach, Florida, is “experiencing a mechanical failure and is limited to single leaf operations. The west leaf is operational.”

That bridge is expected to reopen Feb. 28.

For opening instructions, mariners are advised to contact bridge tenders and to proceed with caution.

For further questions contact FDOT +1 954-777-4090, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami Command Center at +1 (305) 535-4472 or Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) +1 (954) 524-2733.