Turns out it is quicker to build a massive new bridge from scratch than to repair one that is nearly 50 years old.
As Vero Beach residents know all too well, the Alma Lee Loy Bridge, which carries 17th Street over the Indian River lagoon, has been a construction site for more than five years, and traffic will be winding around barricades and orange barrels for at least another year and half.
Meanwhile, at the south end of the island, a team of engineers and contractors working for the Florida Department of Transportation have spanned the waterway with a new modern concrete and steel structure in just over two years…