A South Florida bridge is shut down for months, and that means detours for beachgoers

A popular route to the beach in Hollywood shut down to traffic this week for major improvements, and it won’t be open again until September.

That means people heading to Hollywood beach this Father’s Day weekend and beyond will have to find another way to the Atlantic ocean and the Hollywood Broadwalk.

The Sheridan Street bridge, which carries drivers over the Intracoastal, closed Monday for a lengthy rehab project.

Take note of the detours: People heading to and from the beach need to head south to Hollywood Boulevard or north to Dania Beach Boulevard to connect from U.S. 1 to A1A.

The closed bridge is just east of Broward County’s West Lake Park and Anne Kolb Nature Center. Access to those recreation areas will remain open.

The shutdown of the Sheridan bridge for vehicular traffic will last through the summer if all goes according to plan. The bridge is expected to open again in three months, in September, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

Marine traffic also will be affected, according to the city of Hollywood. During weekdays, one side of the bridge will open at designated times. The bridge will not open to boat traffic from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

What is happening during the shutdown span?

Workers will be busy on a $12 million improvement project to add bicycle-friendly and anti-slip walking plates, pedestrian gates, and a four-foot safety railing between the sidewalk and the roadway. It will also upgrade the outer pedestrian railing and the tender houses.

“Lots of work coming to the bridge,” Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said on Facebook. “It is already in progress.”

If the bridge is needed for evacuation during a hurricane, the project would allow for temporary use, Al Banz, the senior project engineer , said during a January town hall.

Mayor Levy said the summer months were chosen for the work because it’s a less busy time. But, he said, “it’s never a convenient time.”