New river bridge failure spells trouble for Fort Lauderdale boaters, businesses

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Boat people and businesses in the area are now voicing their continued frustration as Thursday’s failure of the New River Bridge caused a major train breakdown for Brightline commuters.

The New River Suspension Bridge in downtown Fort Lauderdale was built in 1978 but failed for reasons that have yet to be identified.

Local 10 News cameras spotted signs near the bridge that read “Waterway Closed” and “Under Bridge Repairs.”

Brightline services opened within hours on Thursday, but many, like water taxi general manager Greg Farley, said the delays were a nightmare for his business.

“The impact on our business is logistics — 13 ships go out to sea every day to service the greater Fort Lauderdale area,” Farley said. “Having had difficulty finding a marina last night far from our base camp. We had two weddings of over 100 people.”

according to a tweet According to the City of Fort Lauderdale, “Repairs to the New River Railroad bridge in downtown FTL are still ongoing. Throughout Sunday night, NYC’s free water truck service operated between stations on the east side of the bridge.”

Visitors planning to bring boats to the area should experience delays.