Brooks Bridge: Difference between revisions
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Constructed in 1965–1966, it replaced a low-level steel through-truss center-pier swing-span structure immediately west of the current bridge which had become increasingly unreliable with age, the center-pivoting span having been known to get stuck in the open position while allowing for transit of maritime traffic. Removal of the steel work and the old concrete pivot pier began in March 1966 by the U.S. Army [[Corps of Engineers]] as the new Brooks Bridge reached completion with removal taking about three weeks. <ref>Fort Walton Beach Florida, Playground Daily News, "''Old Bridge Is Removed At Brooks''", Tuesday 15 March 1966, Volume 20, Number 27, page 3.</ref> |
Constructed in 1965–1966, it replaced a low-level steel through-truss center-pier swing-span structure immediately west of the current bridge which had become increasingly unreliable with age, the center-pivoting span having been known to get stuck in the open position while allowing for transit of maritime traffic. Removal of the steel work and the old concrete pivot pier began in March 1966 by the U.S. Army [[Corps of Engineers]] as the new Brooks Bridge reached completion with removal taking about three weeks. <ref>Fort Walton Beach Florida, Playground Daily News, "''Old Bridge Is Removed At Brooks''", Tuesday 15 March 1966, Volume 20, Number 27, page 3.</ref> |
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As the only local crossing of the Santa Rosa Sound, it is subject to traffic congestion. An additional crossing between Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island has been discussed for many years, but as of 2011, no firm plans have ever emerged. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 12:20, 5 March 2011
The Brooks Bridge is a four-lane steel and concrete structure that carries highway U.S. Route 98 over Santa Rosa Sound (mile 223 of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway) just west of the Choctawhatchee Bay between downtown Fort Walton Beach, Florida and the three-mile section of Okaloosa Island controlled by the city of Fort Walton Beach. It is named for John T. Brooks, a long-time local developer and city figure. It has a charted clearance of 50 feet above the water. [1]
Constructed in 1965–1966, it replaced a low-level steel through-truss center-pier swing-span structure immediately west of the current bridge which had become increasingly unreliable with age, the center-pivoting span having been known to get stuck in the open position while allowing for transit of maritime traffic. Removal of the steel work and the old concrete pivot pier began in March 1966 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the new Brooks Bridge reached completion with removal taking about three weeks. [2]
As the only local crossing of the Santa Rosa Sound, it is subject to traffic congestion. An additional crossing between Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island has been discussed for many years, but as of 2011, no firm plans have ever emerged.
References