North Escambia is the county’s red-headed stepchild. Few people realize that when they drive to the University of West Florida campus that they have reached the mid-point of the county. North Escambia County is rural, but also dotted with huge industrial plants- Gulf Power Crist Plant, International Paper and Ascend Performance Materials (Solutia/Monsanto).
William Reynolds writes today that it’s also dotted with aging wooden bridges. He reports that many of Escambia County’s 128 bridges have wooden structures and/or wooden supports, and many are 50 to 70 years old. Fifty of those bridges are in north Escambia.
Eleven are classified as “structurally deficient†and seven are classified as “functionally obsoleteâ€, according to a 2010 report. Escambia County says it would take $96.6 million to replace 103 of those bridges — including 50 bridges in North Escambia — within the next 10 years.
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