A report presented to the county's infrastructure and capital improvements committee this week said that the foundations had originally been thought to be good for 40 years or so but that latest analysis puts the remaining life at 20 to 30 years.
This could mean that plans to build a new US$100 million bridge have to be accelerated. The Bear Cut Bridge – a portion of the Rickenbacker Causeway that links Key Biscayne and Miami – is currently undergoing repairs under a project that began last month. Corroded steel beams are being replaced on the 365m-long bridge, which was built in 1944 and widened in the 1980s.
Contractor Kiewit has this month produced a report for Miami-Dade on the capacity of the existing piles. Eight representative piles were checked and the report concluded that the piles met the factor of safety to the original design criteria of the 1940s but that three were below today's safety factors. In general the report concluded that the bridge meets its design standards and has a life expectancy of 20 to 30 years, rather than the 40 or year previously thought.
Once the refurbishment project is complete, the county will begin planning the process of replacing the bridge.
