Bridge Repair Dangers
Alert; many fixed bridges along the Atlantic ICW are undergoing maintenance and repairs. When the the span over the ICW channel is involved, a severe hazard may be present to sailboats with large air drafts.
Example Problem:
27 November 2013: Melbourne Causeway Bridge.
Maintenance work was ongoing over the channel and there were steel cables and other materials across the entire opening reducing the clearance to
< 63' 2". This was against USCG regulations and contrary to published USCG and Corps of Engineers data in the Local Notice to Mariners that half the width of the channel would be left unaffected with full 65' clearance. At least 4 vessels had equipment on their mastheads damaged. Loss of a mast was only averted by fractions of an inch.
Updated: 6 November 2014