The early morning commute through Islamorada was slowed after a vehicle crashed through a traffic gate on Snake Creek Bridge on Thursday.
First responders were alerted to the incident on the bascule bridge a little after 5:32 a.m. Per Adam Linhardt, of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Transportation, a Kia sedan struck the bridge traffic gate and the traffic barrier that prevents cars from driving into the open span.
The car hit the bridge in a way that rendered the bridge inoperable, shutting down traffic between Plantation Key and Windley Key for about an hour.
“It was backed up in both directions,” Linhardt said. “The road was full of car parts.”
No injuries were sustained in the crash. The Florida Highway Patrol led the investigation. The Keys Weekly reached out for additional information into what led to the crash.
Crews continued working on the bridge throughout the day. Maria Rosa Higgins Fallon, FDOT public information officer, said FDOT evaluated the bridge’s condition and restored vehicular traffic. Marine traffic was also affected until FDOT tested the traffic barrier and replaced the damaged traffic gate.
“The bridge is now operational, and we are conducting some minor tests this afternoon,” she said.
FDOT is in the process of studying and evaluating the bascule bridge’s replacement with a fixed-span bridge. A project development and environmental study began this year, with the goal to evaluate existing bridge conditions, future transportation conditions and developing conceptual design plans to replace the current bridge.
