EUSTIS, Fla. — Engineers are coming up with a plan after a bridge partially collapsed and forced 20 Eustis families to evacuate from their homes off Creek Run Lane.
Residents in the Spring Ridge Estates were forced to leave their homes Thursday night and haven’t been allowed back since.
The bridge is the only way in and out of their subdivision and is privately owned by the Spring Ridge Estates Home Owners Association.
On Monday, an FDOT certified engineer was on site, inspecting the bridge and answering questions during an informal meeting hosted by the HOA.
Residents were told the HOA already had an insurance claim out on the bridge, but the engineer on site couldn’t answer questions about a timeline for repairs or possible costs to the HOA yet.
However, over the weekend, the City of Eustis said they were working to support repair efforts by diverting water to protect utilities, including water and sewer lines located beneath the bridge.
According to the city, water continues to flow under the bridge, causing erosion to the culverts.
City officials also said they were coordinating with the private contractors hired by the HOA to identify the best temporary solution to restore safe access for residents.
“We have contingency plans in place should the main sewer line fail, and equipment is already staged in the event the bridge deteriorates further,” Eustis Fire Chief Mike Swanson said. “Our goal is to do everything possible to prevent a full evacuation of the community.”
Swanson said in case of a sewer line failure, 106 homes could need the evacuate but that is a reality they are trying to avoid.
“If everything does fail and go bad for us, we can have that sewer line bypass and back up and running within an eight-hour period, Swanson said.
At least eleven families who were displaced in Thursday’s evacuations are staying at local hotels paid for by Lake Support & Emergency Recovery (LASER).
“We were just here for the short period to be able just to give them a place so that they could get their ducks in a row and speak with their insurance company and figure out what their next steps are,” said Brandi Martin, the Executive Director.
Chief Swanson said he was drafting a letter for homeowners to provide to their insurance in case the evacuation order remains in place for a lengthy period.
“Most of them have insurance and are going be given this letter so that they can go to their homeowner’s insurance and possibly get some funding if they have to move out for a while,” said Swanson.
After nearly two decades in their Eustis home, the partially collapsed bridge is keeping Nancy Roorbach and her husband Robert Roorbach away.
The couple has stayed with their daughter since Thursday’s evacuations.
“We’re blessed. We have a place to stay,” said Robert Roorbach.
The Roorbachs said overall they were staying positive amid the challenging time, but stated they too were concerned about a possibly costly repair.
“The thing that we are concerned about is how much is it going to cost each one of us homeowners in the community? Because we’re an HOA, private property, we are going to be having to pay the bill to fix that so-called bridge,” said Nancy Roorbach.
Chief Swanson said the city was prepared to help the HOA with a loan for a bridge repair, though officials are waiting on a full assessment from the HOA’s engineer which should be complete by Friday to determine possible solutions.
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