Metal on Beachline in Cocoa damages vehicles

Part of Beachline shut down because of metal in road

COCOA, Fla. – Cocoa police shut down one lane of State Road 528 on Sunday because of a wide piece of metal sticking up in the road.

Police said the metal was first noticed late Saturday sticking out of the lane on the Beachline at the bridge that crosses over U.S. 1.

Police said the Department of Transportation did a temporary fix on the road, but the piece that was supposed to be fixed got worse Sunday morning.

Police said as drivers were using the westbound lane, the metal jutted up and damaged several vehicles.

One driver, who was on his way to the airport, suffered severe damage to the undercarriage of his car. 

As for the driver's damages, FDOT says the claims process can take up 90 days. He will have to fill out a claims statement and expenses are paid on a case by case basis.

The piece of metal is part of an expansion joint, which runs across the road and expands and contracts to react to temperature changes.

FDOT said this is a rare situation, but similar situations have happened before.

A representative from AAA said most situations such as this one are caught during inspections, but highways do have room for improvement.

"Florida does frequently make maintenance on the roads. However, there is currently a backlog of roads that need maintenance done," said AAA representative Karen Morgan.

Police said FDOT workers had been dispatched to make repairs Sunday morning.  FDOT said a permanent fix to the road is scheduled to be made as early as this week.

Police shut down the westbound lane of the Beachline on the bridge at U.S. 1 and urged drivers to be very cautious in this area.  The westbound entrance ramp was also closed.

Stay with Local 6 and ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.


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