7 P.M. The Okaloosa County School District issued a statement on Facebook that it is working on alternative bus routes and transportation for Wednesday morning.

School buses that use the toll bridge will pick up students at regular times if possible, the School District said in a phone message. Adjustments to drop-off and pick-up times may be made later this week.

The closure will affect the commute for both public and private school students, and parents should have alternate plans for the morning commute.

The Florida Department of Transportation has indefinitely closed the Mid-Bay Bridge (State Road 293) in both directions for emergency repairs.

Temporary message boards have been placed on both ends of the bridge to alert drivers about the temporary closure.

Motorists who use the Mid-Bay Bridge should make alternate plans for their Wednesday morning commute.

The closure was placed after a routine inspection of the Mid Bay Bridge where FDOT inspectors found corrosion on post-tensioning tendons, a pre-stressed steel cable inside the bridge that reinforces concrete. Post-tensioning tendons are one of the internal support systems placed inside the bridge. There are multiple tendons in each span of the Mid-Bay Bridge.

The closure is a cautionary measure intended to minimize the stresses on the bridge while FDOT personnel repair the tendons. FDOT’s number one priority is the safety of the traveling public and routine bridge inspections are one tool the department uses to provide a safe and efficient transportation system.

The Mid-Bay Bridge, a 3.6-mile two lane toll bridge spanning the Choctawhatchee Bay, was built in 1993 and averages 22,000 vehicles per day.

The bridge will open to traffic once repairs are complete.

Planned activities are weather dependent and may be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.

In its 25-year existence, the Mid-Bay Bridge has been closed multiple times for repairs. In August of 2000, the bridge was closed in both directions for 12 days after a routine inspection found serious damage to one of six cables used to support it.