The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • A2

A2 Palm Beach Daily News, Thursday, August 9, 2018 Saturday, August 11, 2018 By JOE CAPOZZI Daily News Staff Writer The latest malfunction on the new Flagler Me- morial Bridge, which has broken down 26 times since it opened to the public last summer, is sparking new concerns by residents and com- muters about the reliabli- ty of the $131.8 million drawbridge. very concern- ing because of the sheer number of malfunctions had.They thought they had identified the problems and now acknowledging that TownManager Kirk Blou- in said Monday after the bridge broke down Sun- day morning. now the engi- neers need to go back to the drawing board and bring people in try to find out what the problem malfunction was blamed on a loose bolt that caused a limit switch to move out of position, affecting the southeast span, a Florida Department of Transpor- tation spokeswoman said. Once the limit switch was refastened into its proper position, the bridge reopened at 11:16 a.m. nearly two hours after the malfunction oc- curred.

Palm Beach po- lice said the malfunction did not cause major traf- fic issues. malfunction which occurred the same day the Palm Beach Daily News and The Palm Beach Post published an investigation into the 25 previous breakdowns was a setback for bridge project officials who had been crossing their fin- gers that the previous malfunction, on June 7, was the last one. The general contractor, PCL Civil Contractors, had planned to hand the bridge over to FDOT on Monday as part of a con- tract stipulation requir- ing the bridge be free of any malfunctions for 60 consecutive days before the state will accept it. Now, the state will not accept the bridge until Oct. 4 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the prob- lems have cost PCL at least $120,000 in opera- tions and maintenance costs on the bridge since May 8, the original date on which the contract was supposed to end, according to a state- ment from FDOT. cost is approximately $40,000 per month. They will continue to pay for this until the project is fi- nally A PCL spokeswoman said the company had no comment. Town residents and officials had plenty to say. Mayor Gail Coniglio said.

fact of the matter is we know season is right around the corner, we know the president of the United States has a home here, and we need to get it right. There is a com- mitment from the Town of Palm Beach that we will continue to pressure FDOT to get it done and get it done once and for When President Don- ald Trump stays at Mar-a- Lago, access to and near the Southern Boulevard Bridge is restricted, es- sentially forcing residents to rely on the middle and north bridges. be break- ing down like this. We are all frustrated, noquestion about it. This is not OK.

They have to find a reso- Councilwoman Julie Araskog said. Araskog said she ex- pected the bridge to be discussed at the Town Council meeting Wednesday. If that hap- pens, it would be at least the second time in four months the council has debated the bridge prob- lems. On May 8, a FDOT con- sulting engineer told the council that soft- ware just needed tweak- ing and be all said Mike Brown, com- munications director for the Palm Beach Civic Association. I think gotten to the bottom of Given the chronic mal- functions since all four lanes opened on July 31, 2017, Brown wondered whether 60 days was enough time to give the state confidence that the bridge break down again.

had 26 malfunctions within the last year, not enough time to guarantee that this bridge is ready for prime he said. The Post investiga- tion, based on a review of hundreds of pages of state and town records, revealed that bridge en- gineers have been sty- mied by the chronic malfunctions and often gave the public a less- than-complete picture of the issues. The story also found that PCL kept spotty re- cords of the malfunc- tions, which may have forced the public to sit in delays longer than neces- sary. one point, they thought they had the problem identified. I was cautiously optimistic for a minute, but my opti- mism is going down day to Blouin said.

pbpost.com Twitter: Loose bolt caused latest bridge failure FDOT statement on Flagler bridge breakdown: bridge malfunction occurred at approximate- ly 9:20 a.m. at the Flagler Memorial Bridge. The mal- function occurred as a re- sult of a loose limit switch providing in- formation on the status of the southeast span. limit switch is an cal component that pro- vides information on the position of the spans. A bolt on the limit switch arm had loosened, mov- ing the limit switch out of position.

correct the problem, the limit switch arm was put back into po- sition and tightened. The bridge reopened at ap- proximately 11:16 a.m.” ROADWATCH Today TOP PICKS THE WEATHER Today will be mostly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms.The high will be near 90 degrees, with the low around 78, according to the National Weather Service in Miami. Winds will be out of the southwest be- tween 5 and 7mph. The marine forecast calls for seas around 2 feet, and south winds around 5 knots. Lake Worth Inlet: High tides will be at 6:40 a.m.

and 7:27 p.m. with low tide at 12:52 p.m. Sunrise: 6:49 a.m. Sunset: 8:01 p.m. Road blocked A portion of North LakeWay will be blocked between Reef Road and Onon- daga Avenue today while Florida Power Light Co.

work is completed. Traffic will be detoured to North Ocean Boulevard. Music in the courtyard Jared Violin will perform at 5 p.m. today in the east courtyard at Royal Poinciana Plaza, 340 Royal Poinciana Way. Call 440-5441 for more information.

Clematis by Night B-Side Jones, with open- er Andrew Luv the Franchise Players, will perform from 6 to 10 p.m. today at 100 Clematis West Palm Beach. Call 822-2222 for more information. Screen on the green Last Jediwill be shown at 7 p.m. Friday on the great lawn over- looking theWest Palm Beach waterfront, 100 Clematis West Palm Beach.

Call 822-2222 for more information. PET PALS Oliver, a 3-year-old male domestic short- hair, is available for adoption at the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach. Call 686-3663 or visit peggyadams. org.

Courtesy of Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League On Facebook at facebook.com/ shinysheet or just search for Beach Daily LOOK FOR THE SHINY SHEET By JANIECE SEBRIS Daily News Staff Writer Palm Beach Syna- Project Connect hosted the first kosher dinner on Aug. 1 at Quan- tum House in West Palm Beach. Quantum House aims to serve families whose children are receiving treatment in Palm Beach County through events like Chef for a Day, an op- portunity for volunteers to prepare a group meal for the residents to enjoy. However, many of the Jewish families par- take in these well-mean- ing, nonkosher dinners. The Project Connect kosher meal brought all the resident families to- gether as one.

It also pro- vided a volunteer balloon maker and face painter, as well as prizes for each child. For more information about Project Connect, contact the synagogue at 120 N. County Road. Call 832-9002, or visit palm- beachsynagogue.com. Mezuzah program After the tragedy at Mar- jory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb.

14, Palm Beach Synagogue created a pro- gram called My Jewish Bedroom to give young people a sense of security in their homes by affixing mezuzahs to the door- posts of homes, bedrooms and offices. In Judaism, mezuzahs are visual symbols of spiritual iden- tity.They contain a tightly rolled scrap of parchment with a Hebrew verse writ- ten in ink by a scribe; the cases come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Led by Rabbi Yosef Rice, program volunteers work with youngsters to craft individual mezuzah cases, sometimes out of Lego bricks. To date, the program has affixed 100 mezuzahs, and the cam- paign is finding success around the world as other communities are joining in, through the hashtag, For more information about My Jewish Bed- room, call 832-9002, or visit palmbeachsyna- gogue.com. pbdailynews.com Synagogue hosts kosher meal at QuantumHouse Courtesy of Palm Beach Synagogue Max and Rose Friedman and Sarah Dworcan and Clara Rice prepare dinner for families at Quantum House on Aug.

1. Suppliers are being told to use routes that will not require their ve- hicles to make a U-turn into the site off Royal Palm Way, Deputy Town Manager Jay Boodhesh- war said. The public will be given several notice of any traffic im- pacts or traffic changes caused by the project, he said. Site improvementwork is expected to begin in February. Exterior door and window installa- tion and construction of the barrel tile roof starts in March, with interior construction beginning the following month.

Hedrick con- tract calls for the new center to be completed and turned over to the town on Nov. 6, 2019. Plans call for a ground- breaking ceremony sometime in October, Boodheshwar said. Palm Beach Day Acad- upper campus, at 241 Seaview across from the demolition and construction site, will welcome its 240 stu- dents back to class Sept. 4.

The school has been in close communication with the town and ex- pects no changes apart from loss of the use of the recreation athletic field during the construction period, said Sarah Kemeness, head of the upper school. The school is arrang- ing to hold home games for its flag football, soc- cer and lacrosse teams at a different location and will use the east and west fields on its campus for team practice, she said. Palm Beach Public El- ementary, at 239 Cocoa- nut Row, immediately west of the center, starts the new school year Monday. The school also shares use of the athletic field, and a portion of the field nearest to the school has been fenced off from the construction. The tennis courts will remain open for normal operating hours during the proj- ect, though occasional closures are possible, the town has said.

Some ten- nis tournaments may be shifted to the courts at Phipps Ocean Park, said Dan Minic, head tennis pro. The play- ground, front lawn and basketball court will not be accessible during construction. The cost of the proj- ect will be evenly split among the Morton and Barbara Mandel Family Foundation, Friends of Recreation and the town. pbdailynews.com Demolition From Page A1 342 E. Palmetto Park Suites 1 2 Boca Raton, FL 33432 Tel.

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