Construction of southbound Interstate 75 lanes was faster than traffic on the highways of Bradenton and Palmetto Sunday.
Crews of the state highway department late Sunday opened two lanes of southbound I-75 on the northbound lanes of the I-75 bridge at U.S. 301- less than five days after a gasoline truck damaged an overpass and closed the heavily traveled interstate.
While continuing to demolish the old span Sunday, the open northbound lanes were divided into two lanes going north and two lanes going south. And work, which was expected to be done by 6 a.m. Monday, was completed at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
"It's open," FDOT spokeswoman Cindy Clemmons-Adente said. "I can't believe they did it, but they did it."
Clemmons-Adente's enthusiasm was tempered by the fact that there is no southbound I-75 on ramp off U.S. 301 and there won't be until the bridge is fully repaired, which will be in about six weeks.
"There was no way we could use that ramp," Clemmons-Adente said. "The geometry just didn't work."
In order to go south on I-75 from U.S. 301 motorists will have to either go north on I-75 to Mocassin Wallow and turn around or go west on U.S. 301 to U.S. 41 to State Road 64 and out to I-75, Clemmons-Adente said.
The promise of southbound, interstate traffic no longer being diverted into the heart of Bradenton and Palmetto left hope that massive backups on the local highways would ease.
Again Sunday, detours onto State Road 64 in Bradenton and highways 19 and 41 in Palmetto backed up traffic - causing 30-minute delays.
The more than 200 workers who rotated in and out of the bridge site all day Sunday, some working on the re-configured bridge, some on the tearing down of the damaged span, and some on getting U.S. Highway 301 open, completed several key steps.
By 1 p.m., workers had opened one westbound and one eastbound lane of U.S. 301, ending the detour on 19th Street.
By 6 p.m., workers had put down the pavement to make the new median crossovers on the I-75 bridge and were started painting the asphalt and striping and other final steps.
In the five days since the fiery crash, which damaged the supports and underside of I-75 with 2,000-degree heat, FDOT crews have worked 24-hour days to open lanes at the stricken intersection.
While they have worked, vehicles have been diverted off I-75 into Palmetto and Bradenton, creating nightmarish traffic tie-ups at times.
On Sunday, Bill and Carol Smith stocked up their car with extra food and water, as if they were getting ready to face an extreme challenge.
Actually, they were leaving their Seminole home to travel to Lakewood Ranch for a 4 p.m. party their grandson Tyler, who was celebrating his 14th birthday and graduation from Braden River Middle School.
But Patty Norris, Tyler's mother and the Smith's daughter, had made her father aware of "The Big Crunch," the backup of traffic in the county.
The Smiths left about an hour or so earlier than normal, but the trip actually only took 30 minutes more than it should and there was no need to break out the emergency supplies, Bill Smith said.
The Smiths didn't get "crunched" until they hit the Manatee Convention Center.
"That was the only really bad place," said Smith, who took I-275 to U.S. 19 and then made his way south on U.S. 301. He was stuck for 20 minutes in front of the Civic Center. He finally got past Manatee Memorial Hospital and went to State Road 70. Then he went east to Lakewood Ranch.
"It was fine," Smith said of his overall experience. "You could see the police (Sheriff's Office) and the Highway Patrol were manning the intersections and controlling the lights. That was good to see. They really helped expedite the traffic."
As with any disaster, there are often some hidden victims.
State and local law enforcement officials said there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of bats that lived under the bridge and died in the fiery explosion.
Go online for an early-morning update on status of I-75 southbound lanes
• Read the Herald's stories from the past week.
• View photo galleries
• Listen to audio of witnesses talking about the accident
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