JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Frustration continues to grow over the semitrailer of a tractor truck that fell over the Dames Point Bridge last month and remains lodged in the mud and shallow water below.
It's unclear when and how the trailer, which has been stuck in the St. Johns River since Dec. 21, will be removed.
Jacksonville boat captain Lee Bowman told News4Jax over the weekend that he was out on the river when he saw water bottles floating inside the trailer and into the river through an open back door. Bowman said he and a few friends were able to shut and secure the door to prevent more plastic bottles from getting into the river. But like so many others, he's hoping for a permanent solution.
News4Jax has been working to find out why there has been a holdup and who is responsible.
Throughout the day Tuesday, News4Jax reached out to several state agencies about the status of the container under the Dames Point Bridge.
A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman said FHP is coordinating with the recovery company to have the debris removed. He said the bridge cannot support a crane to pull out the container. Instead, a crane will need to be brought out on a barge.
The Department of Environmental Protection said its staff is issuing a warning that will require the responsible party to remove the trailer and its contents of bottled water from the river, but it has no role in the removal of the trailer.
A city spokesperson said the responsibility falls on the trucking company.
The company, based out of Orlando, said it will cost $28,000 to remove the trailer from the water, but the problem is the insurance company won't pay for it. When asked about a timeline, News4Jax was told to call Southern Wrecker, which is the removal company that then referred News4Jax to the Florida Department of Transportation.
A DOT spokesperson told News4Jax, “ The department is not currently involved in the removal of the trailer.”
The trailer is in Jacksonville City Councilman Al Ferraro's district. He said he's been receiving a lot of calls about it from people who concerned.
After making several calls himself, Ferraro said that there's a lot of finger pointing going on and it's frustrating.
"We are trying to find out if the company is not going to handle this, who is going to do it?" Ferrao said. "We don't want it to fall to the taxpayer, but it looks like that's where we're going with this. So I'm concerned about it."
Ferraro wants to make sure everyone knows he is working on helping find a solution sooner rather than later.
Over the weekend, crews with Logan Diving & Salvage, as well as the St. Johns Riverkeeper, cleared out the contents of the trailer. According to Logan Diving & Salvage, 42,000 pounds of cargo were removed in two days.