All lanes reopened after wires in water prompted partial road closure in Bradenton

At least two westbound lanes of Cortez Road in the 1700 block near Demetrios’ Pizza House were closed because of live wires down in the water, according to Manatee County’s emergency communication center.

The emergency calls first came in just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

A third lane remained open, according to emergency responders, “on an individual basis. We will judge the height of cars to let them through.”

Workers arrived at the scene shortly after 3:15 p.m. and worked to clear the scene.

By Wednesday night, all lanes were reopened and the wires were cleared.

More than 1,200 Florida Power & Light customers were without power in the corridor and another 1,242 had no power near 53rd Avenue West and Fifth Street West, according to the power company’s live outage map. Most households were back up and running by 6 p.m., according to FPL.

Additionally, Southern Parkway West from 26th Street to the 3100 block was closed from about 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. due to roadway flooding, according to the Bradenton Police Department. It is now back open.

This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 3:45 PM.