JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-- The city is now stepping in to fix part of a downtown street that collapsed seven months ago.
Lee Fields walks along the river every day, but it's hard not to notice the "road closed" sign and the big hole. "It's a big concern. It's had issues with this place in the past so it seems like it's unstable," said Fields.
Liberty Street downtown collapsed back in April. A private contractor doing work on the Berkman property put a 12-ton crane on the bridge. The max is only three. Now, Action News has learned the city may have to fork over the money to fix it. It's estimated the cost just to remove the debris $50 thousand. The mayor's spokesman couldn't even estimate how much the total cost may be.
David DeCamp did tell us the private contractor, CPS, was working to fix the problem. "They have backed out, citing insurance issues. Now we're stepping up to fix the problem," said DeCamp.
DeCamp says they will still fight to get that money back. "We will pursue expenses incurred by the city," said DeCamp.
In the meantime, the prime real estate will go unnoticed by one of the biggest events coming to Jacksonville, the Gator Bowl. The route for the parade had to be changed because of the road closure.
"We'll go past The Landing and get that back into the route, which has always been the center for us," said Events Manager Tom Norton.
As for a timetable on when all this work will be done, the mayor's office couldn't give us one. They are hoping to get the debris cleaned up in the next few months so the repair process can start. The new parade route for the Gator Bowl will go down Bay street to Pearl Street.
