Strong storms knock sign down on Davis Islands Bridge | News

Tampa, Florida - The sign is clear of the Davis Islands Bridge after a strong storm knocked it over Monday night. Traffic is moving smoothly once again in all lanes.

But with the Republican National Convention less than a week away, and more storms in the forecast, what does that mean for the roadways?

It's rarely a road that causes headaches for commuters, but the Davis Islands Bridge did just that Tuesday morning.

"Some type of intense wind situation that occurred you can look at ta number of the branches. It was again, very sudden and very intense," says Irv Lee, Director of Public Works.

One storm caused Kennedy Boulevard and Ashley Drive to be backed up for miles during the morning rush hour.

Crews had to saw the arm off the sign to detach it from the side of the bridge. For a short period of time, the bridge was completely shut down as crews placed a big piece of the sign onto a flatbed. It took a few hours to get it all cleaned up, finally removing the sign from the right lane and getting it onto a truck.

"We initially safed the sign itself, and then in daylight were able to get with contract support and safely get the structure itself off the road and out of the way," says Lee.

This mess was caused by a pretty typical summer storm. With the Convention less than a week away and 60,000 people sharing our roadways, how is Public Works prepared for a similar situation?

"It's prioritizing, making sure we're working with first responders, making sure no one was hurt, with property damage is fairly minimum," says Lee.

Temporary signs will go up as soon as possible, because it's a crucial sign for people exiting on to Davis Islands.

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