A drive over the Pensacola Bay Bridge these days shows a lot of barge traffic as crews work to demolish the old bridge and drive the remaining piles for the new westbound structure. The old bridge consisted of 257 concrete sections known as “spans.” Each of the spans consists of concrete piles that were driven into the bay floor more than 60 years ago, footers, columns, pile caps, girders, and bridge decks.

For an update on work underway and milestones over the last year, read the Pensacola Bay Bridge Winter 2020 E-Newsletter.  This issue includes an update on current work activities and another look at the first arch installation above the navigational channel last year. Also featured is the Pensacola Bay Bridge "Goes to School" program and what to expect for the 17th Avenue intersection project.

The demolition of the old Pensacola Bay Bridge presents opportunities to reuse and recycle the concrete and steel components that have served the region since 1960. The old bridge included more than 47,000 cubic yards of concrete, all of which are being disposed of offshore for building fishing reefs.

Work to dispose of concrete debris from the old Pensacola Bay Bridge is underway. Crews are loading the debris aboard barges and transporting it offshore for disposal in areas managed by Escambia County’s Marine Resources Division. The reefs are sure to become favorites for fishing and diving in the Gulf of Mexico.

With all traffic shifted to the eventual eastbound bridge the focus of construction has turned to demolishing the former Pensacola Bay Bridge. To safely remove the concrete and steel components crews first drill cores into the bridge decks to attach the lifting apparatus so it can be attached to a crane. Once the leads are connected to the crane, the bridge deck is cut free using a concrete saw and lifted as a single piece onto a disposal barge.