By Samantha Serbin,13 hours ago
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Yet another victim of Hurricane Ian, a Rotonda West bridge is shut down. County workers deemed it unsafe for anyone to cross. The bridge is near the intersection of Rotonda Boulevard South and Rotonda Circle.
County leaders are saying it could be two years or more before people living in that part of western Charlotte County could drive from one road to another without a detour.
“When they say two years, I think the government works in dog years, so if that’s 14… we may never get a bridge if we don’t do something about it,” Andy Van Scyoc said, president of the Rotonda West Association. “Squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
Making sure their voices are heard is the only way Van Scyoc and treasurer Sam Besase think they’ll get a temporary fix for this bridge.
“Even if they restrict heavy vehicles, we could have a temporary bridge until such a time as the full repair is made. That’s what we’re looking for,” Besase said.
The bridge went down after Ian and has been closed ever since. The seawalls have completely failed, pillars holding the bridge are starting to lean, and if a heavy truck were to cross… you could be looking at catastrophe.