Cortez Bridge fails — but not falling down

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Draw up: Starting at about 1:30 p.m. and continuing for about two hours May 16, motorists were rerouted due to valve and electrical problems with the bascule on the Cortez Bridge. When the bridge failed to close completely, the Florida Department of Transportation dispatched a repair crew to the bridge that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway on Cortez Road/State Road 684. According to David Gywnn, District 1 director of operations, the repair was successful and it “shouldn’t happen again.” The bridge reopened at 3:30 p.m. Islander Photo: Kathy Prucnell

The Florida Department of Transportation is not worried about the May 16 midday malfunction of the Cortez Bridge.

For about two hours, the bridge on Cortez Road West/State Road 684 between Anna Maria Island and Cortez shut down, causing traffic to be rerouted and delayed.

Built in 1956 and repaired about two years ago, the Cortez Bridge should last another 10-12 years, according to DOT communications specialist Robin Stublen.

Bradenton Beach police redirected the island traffic at Cortez Road West and Gulf Drive.

With the BBPD station next to the bridge, Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz sees the bridge close for repairs unexpectedly “twice a year maybe.”

Stublen blamed the recent bridge closure on an electrical malfunction in a mechanism that raises and lowers the bridge, preventing the bridge from locking down.

“This is not unusual,” he said, considering the effect of salt water on the bascules.

David Gywnn, DOT District 1 director of operations, said the bridge failure was due to a release valve that lost power and a hydraulic malfunction.

Both DOT representatives agreed the most recent repair was successful and the bridge operating without problems.

“It shouldn’t happen again,” Gywnn said.