The ’24-clunk bridge’: Why I-95 drivers face a bumpy highway in Lake Worth Beach

Jim Mantrozos braces for the stretch of I-95 in Palm Beach County that always makes his car go bump, bump, bump. He considers it so “terrifically annoying,” he has nickname for it: the “24-clunk bridge.”

Mantrozos, 69, of Wellington, is among the many I-95 drivers who’ve grown accustomed to driving across the bumpy part of I-95 by Lake Worth Beach.

The bumps have been more noticeable for nearly 10 years, since the state made changes to make the highway safer. Now, a $4 million construction project is planned along that stretch for the fall of 2024, but don’t expect the bumps to go away.

“I’ve never seen a bridge like that,” said Mantrozos, who feels there’s always been “something off” about that stretch.

Here’s a look at why the road became so bumpy, and what to expect from next year’s planned construction.

Making changes

This part of I-95 is elevated on a bridge known as the Lake Worth Bridge Viaduct, constructed in 1975 and widened in 2007. Underneath its concrete underbelly, it houses parking spots. 

It runs from about the interstate entrance of Sixth Avenue South in Lake Worth Beach, near the water tower, to just past the overpass over Lake Worth Road. 

Years ago, the state found there was a safety concern: Almost 150 accidents from 2008 to 2010 happened on that stretch, particularly during wet weather.

So in 2014, the entire bridge deck was covered with a “high-friction surface coating,” said Guillermo Canedo, the District Four communications manager for the Florida Department of Transportation.

This sticky overlay was put down to prevent skidding.

There are 25 concrete spans forming the bridge with a joint at the end of each, contributing to the bumps.

When the safety-oriented coating was added in 2014, “motorists can feel the depressions at the expansion joints more noticeably now,” a transportation department spokesperson acknowledged at the time. 

Still, these “high-friction surface treatments” provide many benefits and improved road quality, Canedo said. He did not say whether the transportation department determined if the number of accidents have since gone down.

For years, drivers and passengers have heard and felt the thuds, which last for about 26 seconds if you’re going about the speed limit.

The infrastructure surrounding those utilities would have been very difficult and expensive to move, Canedo said, so the most efficient design at the time was likely to elevate that section of the interstate, resulting in a rather knobby ride.

Drivers shouldn’t worry about tire damage, Canedo said, even if crossing over this section of the interstate, especially traveling north, feels as though one’s car tires might pop.

“The bridge is safe to drive on, and we haven’t had any reports of damage to tires being caused by the bridge deck condition,” he said.

Fred Bloetscher, a civil engineering professor at Florida Atlantic University, said he’s never perceived the bridge as a concern. He pointed out how drivers may find comparable designs in downtown Miami where I-95 “dead-ends.”

“Your shock absorbers might get a little workout,” he said.

But bridges do deteriorate, with a common rule of thumb being that most will last about a century before needing to be replaced. Because of that, bridges require constant maintenance, he said.

What to expect

In 2020, an inspection found some of the bridge joints needed repairing.

A year later, the transportation department created a rehabilitation project to “remove, furnish and install” the entire wearing surface, bridge joint headers and seals.

This past July, the transportation department used drones to avoid closing any lanes to identify missing or damaged parts of the bridge’s surface, and a $4 million construction project to address those deficiencies will begin in the fall of 2024 to “enhance drivers’ rideability and prolong the lifespan of the bridge deck,” Canedo said.

But if construction is planned to commence anyway, why not just make that part of I-95 like its neighboring sections?

“Everything is possible, right? But there are a lot of things to consider,” Canedo said. “One is the cost. There is nothing that has changed in the conditions on the ground that would make it any cheaper to redo the highway.”

The Lake Worth Beach Public Works Department, which is responsible for maintenance of city facilities, sits directly next to I-95. So does the Lake Worth Beach Sanitation Department and the Lake Worth Community High School.

“So whatever the conditions were that necessitated the decision to elevate the highway are probably still true today. The water treatment plant is still there, the high school is still there. Purchasing land is a very costly endeavor.”

Canedo said the department must be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, which ultimately fund systems like I-95 and improvements to it, so if the department determines a cost is not necessary, it won’t be pursued.

“In this instance, it’s more cost effective, more efficient and probably makes better engineering sense to pursue what they’re doing here, which is to change out the joints and change out the surface layer, not completely redo the whole bridge,” he said. “Think of the traffic that goes there.”