Main Street Bridge (Jacksonville)

Main Street Bridge
Coordinates	30°19′22″N 81°39′31″W / 30.322852°N 81.658616°WCoordinates: 30°19′22″N 81°39′31″W / 30.322852°N 81.658616°W
Carries	four general purpose lanes of US 1 / US 90 and two sidewalks
Crosses	St. Johns River
Locale	Jacksonville, Florida
Official name	John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge
Maintained by	Florida Department of Transportation
ID number	720022
Characteristics
Design	steel vertical lift bridge
Total length	512.1 meters (1680 feet)
Width	17.6 meters (58 feet)
Longest span	111.3 meters (365 feet)
Clearance above	4.87 meters (16.0 feet)
Clearance below	11 meters (35 feet) closed 41.1 meters (135 feet) open
History
Opened	July 1941

The Main Street Bridge, officially the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge, is a bridge crossing the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the second bridge built across the river. It carries four lanes of traffic, and is signed as US 1/US 90 (SR 5/SR 10). A lift bridge, it opened in July 1941^[1] at a cost of $1.5 million.^[2] In 1957 it was named after Mayor John T. Alsop, Jr., but continues to be known, even on road signs, as the Main Street Bridge. It remains one of the most recognizable features of the Downtown Jacksonville skyline.

North (downtown) approach

When the bridge was first built, its north end was at the intersection of Main Street and Water Street. Traffic continued north on Main Street, with a one-way pair being made at some point; after that, northbound traffic turned right on Water Street and left on Ocean Street.

In 1978, several approach bridges and ramps were built. Main Street now goes over Water Street, and a ramp now carries all traffic from the bridge diagonally into Ocean Street, with a second bridge over Water Street. Ramps provide access to and from Water Street.

South approach

The bridge originally ended at Miami Road (now Prudential Drive). When Jacksonville's original expressway system was built, in 1958, ramps were built connecting this intersection to the new expressway (now I-95 (SR 9)) connecting the Fuller Warren Bridge and the Acosta Bridge to Philips Highway (U.S. Route 1 (SR 5)) and Atlantic Boulevard (US 90 (SR 10)).

In 1968, a flyover was built between the ramps to I-95 (SR 9) and the bridge, with frontage roads continuing to serve Miami Road and several other cross streets. Thus there is now uninterrupted traffic flow from I-95 (SR 9) to the Main Street Bridge.

Gallery

• 
  A 1992 map of the Main Street Bridge (the east one).
• 
  Looking south from downtown along Main Street towards the Main Street Bridge.
• 
  Looking south through the truss of the Main Street Bridge.
• 
  View from Hyatt Regency Hotel, with the Acosta Bridge visible in the background.
• 
  The bridge as viewed from the south bank.
• 
  A view of the center part of the bridge from south.

The bridge opens at half past the hour.

References

1. "Main Street Bridge". Retrieved 2009-03-22.
2. "Main Street Bridge - Jacksonville, FL". Retrieved 2009-03-22.