http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2013-09-27/story/jacksonvilles-mathews-bridge-shut-down-after-ship-hits-it (http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2013-09-27/story/jacksonvilles-mathews-bridge-shut-down-after-ship-hits-it)
QuoteBoth directions of the Mathews Bridge are closed indefinitely after what state transportation officials are calling a "significant hit" Thursday to the center of the span from a large cargo ship being towed.That means Jacksonville traffic will be "a mess" as an estimated 109,000 vehicles a day have to find another bridge to use, especially for Sunday's Jaguars home game, Sheriff's Office Assistant Chief Leonard Propper said."This will be the most significant delay the city has had in a long time," Propper said.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/24/opinion/rebuilding-la-s-transportation.html (http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/24/opinion/rebuilding-la-s-transportation.html)
QuoteThe secret is out. Los Angeles does have a mass-transit system, and it works. The earthquake has now driven tens of thousands of commuters to give it a try.
I think that the JTA and the city of Jacksonville are going to have to take a look at some commuter rail/expanded bus service after the hit to the Mathews Bridge! The city tried to keep the good ole boy/oil/highway cartel going for too long!
I've always said that the city should have snuck commuter rail into the mix during the Superbowl in '05. Now, they'll be forced to finally implement some real transit options into Jacksonville! This bridge could be out for, at least, a year! Get that FEC ready, and spruce Jacksonville Terminal up with some "temporary platforms and facilities" because it's time! Lease some locos and passenger cars that are not needed in their home territory!
I'm just glad that bridge stayed intact, and it didn't suffer anymore damage! Of course, it's a very good thing that no one was hurt!
Nice thought, but it's the wrong bridge! Had the ship taken out the Fuller Warren, you'd be onto something, as it is paralleled by the FEC, TERMINAL, CSX, NS routes north-south. We'd HAVE to have a reliever for those folks who would be pouring onto the Acosta downtown.
In the case of the Matthews, the rail reliever route was abandoned just prior to 1900, when the Jacksonville, Mayport and Pablo Beach Railway (JM&P or 'Jump Men and Push') was pulled up between South Jacksonville, Clifton, Arlington, Cosmo, Idlewilde, Mount Pleasant, Burnside Beach and Mayport. Sadly nobody could have foreseen the explosive growth that would overwhelm this area after the Matthews Bridge was opened in 1953.
Had we retained our streetcars and interurban links to Spring Glen, Hogan and Yukon, it conceivable that the right-of-way might have been preserved or even used for transit purposes. As it is that ship sailed over 113 years ago, and no amount of modern commuter trains between St. Augustine, The Avenues, University, San Marco and the Terminal, would take a single car out of that traffic mess.
QuoteNice thought, but it's the wrong bridge! Had the ship taken out the Fuller Warren, you'd be onto something, as it is paralleled by the FEC, TERMINAL, CSX, NS routes north-south. We'd HAVE to have a reliever for those folks who would be pouring onto the Acosta downtown.
If something takes out the Fuller Warren, then...GAME OVER!
I know that everything is going to get rerouted over the Hart Bridge, but this mishap is a perfect time for this city to look for other options other than more highways! Five bus lines go over the Mathews with 109,000 vehicles! Something's got to give!
A JTA spokeswoman said on the news last night, that Arlington buses are running 30 to 60 minutes behind schedule. Not much of an alternative, as they are stuck in the same traffic jams.
And wberd do tnose over 100,000 numbers come from? There are about 56,000 cars a day on the Mathews.
The question of the month is:
IS JTA SMART ENOUGH TO 'DO THE LOS ANGELES,' and get emergency funding for remediation - BRT. Imagine sealing off some lanes and throwing up signage, signal priority and que-jumper lanes while the bridge repair drags on?
Quote from: Ocklawaha on September 28, 2013, 11:47:24 PM
The question of the month is:
IS JTA SMART ENOUGH TO 'DO THE LOS ANGELES,' and get emergency funding for remediation - BRT. Imagine sealing off some lanes and throwing up signage, signal priority and que-jumper lanes while the bridge repair drags on?
I thought of something like that for a brief second, but you have a good idea! They are going to have to do something about Atlantic Blvd. Will they make those right lanes from the Hart Expy to University Blvd. bus lanes, or will they just let those buses sit in traffic?
I thought about that idea briefly because I know people will complain about that idea!