Wow! What a beautiful bridge! This unique structure with its many architectural features opened to rave reviews on July 20, 2001. The mayor of Dayton Beach and other distinguished dignitaries attended the grand opening. Other cities throughout Florida and the United States are looking at the Broadway Bridge as an example of how a new major bridge can aesthetically enhance a community.
The new bridge carries traffic from International Speedway Boulevard straight over the Intracoastal Waterway to a height of 20 meters, providing a magnificent view of the Waterway itself, and of the Atlantic Ocean. The bridge is 820 meters long, and was built with 352 segments produced at a the Flagler Beach casting yard 30 miles from Daytona. The segments were delivered by barge, and ranged in weight from 90 to 115 tons.
This September, Misener Marine crews were in the final days of finishing up the project. The westbound bridge was opened to traffic on May 12th. Finishing work continued through July 2001. That same month, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Interbeton/Misener Marine agreed to a change order to completely remove the old, low-level bridge. This extra work has kept crews busy through the end of September.
Despite some significant difficulties and setbacks, the Broadway Bridge was completed on time. The client, FDOT, and the public are very pleased with the new bridge. It features mosaic tile on the piers and sculpted sidewalk panels, customized aluminum hand rails, light poles cast with arms to carry banners, and architectural lighting to illuminate the bridge piers at night.
