Home > The Cone Zone > Archives > 2008 > June > 24 > Entry
Is The Congress Avenue Overpass A Little Shaky?
Bob Flannery has never been accused of being a gephyrophobiac.
For those of you not familiar with the term, that’s someone with an abnormal and persistent fear of crossing bridges.
Sufferers of this phobia experience undue anxiety, even though they know their fear is irrational.
“I’ve crossed many, from the Verrazanno-Narrows to the Golden Gate,” the West Palm Beach resident says.
But, lately, Flannery said he gets a strange feeling every time he drives across the Congress overpass at I-95.
“I see things that worry me. It may just be my imaginings, but the last few times I crossed I see dips at the repair site moving more and more towards the edge of I-95.”
Flanney has absolutely nothing to fear, say the folks overseeing the I-95 construction.
Engineers checked the bridge this morning and found there is “minor settlement of the approach slabs at the phase line.” But the bridge is safe to use.
In fact, in a few weeks, the “dips” will be gone. Forever.
The remaining portion of the old overpass will be demolished in mid- to late July. Traffic will shift to the new bridge that’s being built next to the old one.
In the meantime, the “dips” should not be that noticeable if drivers obey the 35 mph speed limit, said Meredith Rapp, the I-95 construction spokeswoman.
So what do you real gephyrophobia sufferers think?
Comments
By Bob Flannery
June 24, 2008 6:49 PM | Link to this
At the risk of repeating myself it still looks sick as of this afternoon. Now do I believe the spokeswoman by why do I keep remembering that movie: The Bridge of San Luis Ray? First thin you know I’ll be driving on Congress with my eyes closed like some of those other guys.
By John Q Public
June 25, 2008 6:06 AM | Link to this
Looks like you have a habit of repeating yourself, Bob. Even online. :)
By Cone Zone
June 25, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
With all due respect to Bob, I drove it this morning and didn’t see any problem. In the past few years, I’ve driven quite a few construction zones and been over and through a lot worse!
By OLD REAL ESTATE LAWYER
June 26, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this
Palm Beach Newspapers Inc. said today it will cut 300 workers from its payroll of 1,350. That’s a WHOPPING 22% PLUNGE in employees thanks to JEFF OSTROWSKI’S real estate bashing which has included the following low blows:
DISTORTING and INFLATING PALM BEACH COUNTY FORECLOSURES BY 300% for the past 3 years to scare away home buyers.
MASQUERADING his buddy FORECLOSURE CONSULTANTS as impartial real estate experts in his always slanted and biased articles.
Hyping totally FABRICATED real estate horror stories to scare away home buyers.
Misleading readers by citing Arizonia and Nevada’s much worse foreclosure rate as Florida’s, a Post special scare tactic.
Always cherry-picking negative real estate stats and ignoring any positive news!
But hey, your FELLOW EMPLOYESS are paying the price for JEFF OSTROWSKI’S one-sided negative coverage which SLASHED REAL ESTATE ADVERTISING and killed your revenue! Your editor and publisher must be asleep at their desks TO HAVE ALLOWED THIS unjustified ECONOMIC DESTRUCTION!
By Tom
June 30, 2008 8:01 AM | Link to this
Speaking of overpasses making you queasy: I used to have to drive on the 10th ave overpass in north Broward a lot, and remember sitting on the overpass waiting for the light to change. If a big rig drove past the other way (and a lot of Publix trucks go to and from the warehouse around there), the whole bridge would feel like it was bouncing up and down a couple of inches. I alsways assumed that was just normal (and it is still standing several years later :-), but it is disconcerting.
By Cone Zone
June 30, 2008 4:41 PM | Link to this
Tom: No need to go that far south. You can get the “shakes” on the Gateway overpass at I-95.