Highway 4, Highway 168 Bridges Over North Escambia Remain Closed. Here’s an Update. : NorthEscambia.com

Two heavily used east-west routes through far northern Escambia County remain closed due to bridge closures.

The Highway 168 bridge over Hobbs Branch, about three-quarters of a mile east of Pine Barren Road near Bratt, was closed on July 3 after it failed a state inspection. When NorthEscambia.com photographed the bridge shortly after the closure, it was clear that at least one wooden support was extremely deteriorated and almost completely broken in two.

Steven Barry, Escambia County District 5 Commissioner, said Sunday that repairs to the Highway 168 bridge are expected to take about 90 days, but there is always hope that repairs can be done sooner.

Highway 168 and the bridge have been a key connection between Bratt and Century since the closure of the 81-year-old Highway 4 bridge over Canoe Creek in July 2023.

Today, Bratt Road (Bratt to Byrneville) is the bypass for both Highway 4 and Highway 168. Motorists from Highway 168 also use Pine Barren Road to the west and Raines Road to the east to reach Bratt Road.

The latest estimate is that a new bridge on Highway 4 will reopen in late July. The bridge appeared ready Sunday night, but work still needed to be done to prepare and pave the access roads and complete the shoulder work.

Although not the ‘official’ detour, many locals use Highway 168 as a detour for Highway 4.

The average daily traffic in 2021 was 550 vehicles per day on the Highway 168 Bridge. However, traffic is likely to be significantly higher now that the Highway 4 Bridge is closed for replacement. The average daily traffic on the Highway 4 Bridge was 1,800 vehicles per day before the closure.

Pictured above: The Highway 4 bridge over Canoe Creek on Sunday evening. Pictured below: The Highway 168 bridge over Hobbs Branch on July 3, 2024. Photos from NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.