Hurricane leaves Florida bridge in pieces

The storm destabilised a barge-mounted construction crane, which then smashed into the bridge, causing a section of its span to collapse.

Hurricane Sally made landfall as a category 2 storm near Gulf Shores, Alabama, early on Wednesday morning. By the afternoon, reports from Escambia County, which includes Pensacola, said that at least 377 people had been rescued from flooded areas.

The storm damage to the bridge comes a day after it was hit by a barge. It had been closed since Tuesday morning as a result.

Built in 1931 and replaced in 1960, the bridge makes up part of U.S. Highway 98 and connects Pensacola with Gulf Breeze. The Florida Department of Transportation declared the original bridge structurally deficient in 2010, and a $430.2M (£333.8M) project was undertaken to replace it.

A large section of this project was completed earlier this year, with the eastbound structure of the bridge opening in September 2019. A pedestrian and cycle path opened last month, and construction of the westbound structure connecting Gulf Breeze to Pensacola is scheduled for completion by late 2021.

However early reports now suggest the bridge could be closed for three to six months as a result of the hurricane damage.

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