Officials in Holly Hill held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday marking the start of replacement work on the Daytona Avenue Bridge. The bridge was damaged during storms in May 2009, plus a bidding dispute between contractors delayed work for two years. After the bridge was damaged, engineers determined that the bridge foundation could not be repaired, but that the bridge needed to be replaced. Since that time, the bridge has been closed, which has hampered emergency responders from the Holly Hill Police and Fire Departments using the street just behind Holly Hill City Hall. A local church and facilities used by the Volusia County Council on Aging are also located along Daytona Avenue, south of the bridge.
On Thursday, with the bidding dispute resolved, officials also recalled the cooperative work between various government officials that helped get the project approved. Present Holly Hill Police Chief Mark Barker, then Acting City Manager, initially started working with Florida Congressman John Mica’s office, and the Congressman’s office coordinated with the Florida Department of Transportation on the bridge replacement project.
Congressman Mica, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told officials and residents in Holly Hill Thursday that he was proud that the bridge replacement will also be a cost-effective project. He noted that the funds for the bridge replacement were tax monies returning to the community, saying: “This is not me bringing money…back here…this is your money coming back here, you’ve already paid this money. You pay it in your taxes, when you fill up your gas tank all those taxes go to Washington, [so] it’s just returning it, and it’s returning it to a ‘bridge to somewhere’. Sometimes you’ve read about government bridges to nowhere? This is a bridge to somewhere. And it’s a bridge to link this community together.”
Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson Steve Olson told this Examiner Thursday that the bridge replacement project will cost $818,500 and is expected to be completed in 300 days. The contractor for the project is Gregori Construction and Engineering, Inc.
Click here to visit the website of Congressman John Mica.
Click here to visit the Florida Department of Transportation website.
Click here to visit the City of Holly Hill website.
You can contact Mike Royer at mroyer5@yahoo.com
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