Many of the city’s Riverside Park residents were far from happy when the Southwest 11th Avenue swing bridge closed down on Aug. 11 for repairs that would take a full year to complete. For them, the closing means two things: more traffic and more hassles.

Mark Hill, president of Riverside Park Residents’ Association, said the closing means that he and his neighbors can’t get downtown and back so easily now.

The bridge is expected to reopen in August 2010 after a complete overhaul is completed. City commissioners were told in April that the swing bridge needed repairs more urgently than any bridge in the state, including significant structural and mechanical work, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The structure is a movable bridge with a center ring that allows the span to pivot horizontally. It is one of only three swing bridges in the state, according to Merrilyn Rathbun, research director of the Fort Lauderdale History Center.

Last year, the bridge was scheduled for a $3.4 million restoration, said city spokeswoman Shannon Vezina. About $300,000, Vezina said, is being funded by a historic preservation grant from the state, while the rest will be picked up from city funds.

With the bridge sitting closed for a year, drivers to the south of the New River may find it harder to get downtown. City officials suggest drivers use Southwest 18th Avenue and Broward Boulevard, or Southwest Fourth Avenue and Davie Boulevard.

A series of commissions from city officials culminated in the construction of the 11th Avenue swing bridge, originally named the Snow/Reed Bridge in honor of two of Fort Lauderdale’s mayors. The bridge was operated by a hand crank until the 1950s, when an electric motor was installed.

But the steel trusses are corroded and cracked, and retaining walls at the north and south are deteriorating, according to Historical Society documents. The wooden walkways are also rotting and unsafe.

Last month, Florida Department of Transportation officials also announced it wanted to replace four other bridges along Las Olas Boulevard, including bridges that lead to Isle of Venice, Fiesta Way, Nurmi Drive and Royal Palm Drive. The department has classified all the four bridges as “structurally deficient.”

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