Bayshore cleaned-up, reopened to traffic

TAMPA, Fla. - Bayshore Boulevard took a bath this morning.

"They cleaned it up pretty quick," said runner T.J. Frank.

It took all night and tankers full of reclaimed water but city crews hosed away the muck and mud.

"It was like an ocean here-- whitecaps and what not," said Bob Johnson who was strolling along Bayshore’s sidewalk.

By morning, there were no more whitecaps, just blue crabs. They pinched runners who tried to toss them back.

"Well, it's easier running without the water," said runner Allyson Cooper.

Bayshore's balustrade, her sidewalk and four lanes of pavement looked intact considering the last few days of unprecedented flooding. It's the landscaping, the brand new date palms, the city may have to replace.

"The initial interpretation is that it is insured but it may be deemed as an act of God, if you will, which would leave us somewhat vulnerable," said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

The City spent $615-thousand landscaping Bayshore for the Republican National Convention in August. The landscaper who planted 42 palms at $2,200 bucks a piece  says a fresh water flush and fungicide should cure them of any ills. Date palms are hearty trees.

The Mayor says crews will also have to flush the irrigation system to make sure it’s working properly.

"I think they stood up very well considering how new they are," said Cooper.

Bayshore Boulevard took a beating but she cleaned up pretty good.