An engineer will be taking a “forward looking” approach to the problem of erosion under the Morse Boulevard bridge at Lake Sumter.
Richard Busche of Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. told members of the Project Wide Advisory Committee on Monday morning that his firm will not be conducting a “forensic investigation” into what has already happened at the bridge.
“(We plan to) examine what the conditions are today,” Busche said.
After those conditions are examined, Kimley-Horn will make a recommendation about what steps to take to address the situation.
But PWAC member Ron Ruggeri, a Community Development District 7 supervisor, said he he believed Kimley-Horn should conduct a forensic investigation into what has caused the problem which was discovered about two years ago.
“We didn’t know if it was a sinkhole or natural erosion,” District Manager Janet Tutt said. “That’s how all of this came about.”
The man-made islands on which the bridge sits are owned by the District. The bridge and the asphalt belong to Sumter County. The bridge was built in about 2003, Busche said.
Ruggeri said he wanted to know about the expected life span of the bridge.
“If it is determined there was major structural problems with the bridge we
would have recourse from whomever,” Ruggeri said. “We could save money for our residents.”
He added that the pricetag for the remdiation work could be “up to $1.5 million.”
But PWAC Chairman Peter Moeller emphatically pushed back against that number.
He suggested it would be reckless to alarm residents unnecessarily.
“We don’t know if it’s going to cost a dime,” Moeller said.
