Merrill Barber Bridge

Merrill P. Barber Bridge, built in 1995 by Odebrecht Contractors of Florida, Inc., is a concrete arch bridge that spans SR60 over the Indian River and Intracoastal Waterway in Indian River County, Florida.

The bridge has a total length of 3,834 feet (1,169 m) with a main span of 100 feet (30 m) and a 65 ft vertical clearance. The Florida Department of Transportation number is 880087.

Merrill Barber Bridge
The Merrill Barber Bridge is a concrete arch bridge that spans SR60 over the Indian River in Indian River County, Florida. Article
Waterway: Central Indian River				Road: SR60
City: Vero Beach			County: Indian River
Type: concrete arch			Builder:Odebrecht
DOT: 880087		L: 3834.2'	H: 62.3'	Built: 1995
Location: 27.65293,-80.37329

Number	Water	Structure	Road
880087	Indian River	Main Span	SR60
National Bridge Data Number 880087 Route 00060 Place Vero Beach County Indian River Features ICWW Facility SR-60 Location 0.6Mi. W of SR-A1A Latitude 27390707 Longitude 80225301 Service On Roadway Highway - Pedestrian Service Under Roadway Waterway Owner FDOT Built 1995 Rebuilt Lanes 4 Lane Direction 2 way Direction Traffic 23500 Traffic Year 2016 Future Traffic 40772 Future Traffic Year 2038 Length 1169m Width 30m Clearance Kind Prestressed concrete continuous Type Stringer/Multi-beam/Girder Deck Type Concrete Cast-in-Place Critical Inspection Date (mm-yy) 03-17 Deck Good Superstructure Good Substructure Good Channel Bank protection is in need of minor repairs. River control devices and embankment protection have a little minor damage. Banks and/or channel have minor amounts of drift. Culvert N/A Scour Bridge foundations determined to be stable for the assessed or calculated scour condition. Scour is determined to be above top of footing (Example A) by assessment (i.e., bridge foundations are on rock formations that have been determined to resist scour within the service life of the bridge4), by calculation or by installation of properly designed countermeasures

History

The original connection to the barrier island was a curved wooden structure built on cabbage palm pilings and opened in 1920.

In 1951, the wooden bridge was replaced with a concrete bridge with a steel bascule span. This bridge was in constant state of disrepair and was removed, barged out to sea and sunk as an artificial reef.

The old steel bascule span was purchased by Disney and is now in Orlando at the Walt Disney World theme park.

The bridge is named for Merrill P. Barber, the mayor of Vero Beach from 1947 to 1949, and member of the Florida Senate from the 12th District from 1954 to 1958 and from the 29th District from 1963 to 1968.

Fact Sheet

Source: National Bridge Inventory. Information not verified; use at your own risk.

Name:	SR-60 over ICWW
Structure number:	880087
Location:	0.6Mi. W of SR-A1A
Purpose:	Carries highway and pedestrian walkway over waterway
Route classification:	Minor Arterial (Urban) [16]
Length of largest span:	142.1 ft. [43.3 m]
Total length:	3834.2 ft. [1168.6 m]
Roadway width between curbs:	80.1 ft. [24.4 m]
Deck width edge-to-edge:	99.1 ft. [30.2 m]
Vertical clearance below bridge:	62.3 ft. [19.0 m]
Owner:	State Highway Agency [01]
Year built:	1995
Historic significance:	Bridge is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places [5]
Design load:	MS 18+Mod / HS 20+Mod [6]
Number of main spans:	27
Main spans material:	Prestressed concrete continuous [6]
Main spans design:	Stringer/Multi-beam or girder [02]
Deck type:	Concrete Cast-in-Place [1]

Video

Weblinks

• Merrill P. Barber Bridge is Busiest Connection From Vero Beach to Barrier Island
• Merrill Barber Bridge Project: Vero Beach, FL
• BridgeReports.com