Bridge of Lions Rehabilitation - St. Augustine

Jason · October 23, 2009, 10:31:39 AM

The progress on the bridge is really moving along. The majority of the rehabilitated girders are up and the road surface is now being installed. This bridge is going to look great when its finished.

http://www.fdotbridgeoflions.com/progress.html

http://www.fdotbridgeoflions.com/renderings.html

buckethead · October 23, 2009, 10:34:32 AM

This seemed like a criminal waste of taxpayer money to me.

The bridge wasn't great to begin with.

Captain Zissou · October 23, 2009, 11:13:37 AM

I can hardly tell the difference between the old and new.

Jason · October 23, 2009, 11:23:05 AM

That's the point.

Its a historic bridge that was in dire need of rehabilitation or replacement. It will be an upgraded version of its old self but still the same bridge.

Dog Walker · October 23, 2009, 11:59:11 AM

There was a controversy for years about the Bridge of Lions; whether to replace it with a high level fixed bridge that would not require a lift span or try to preserve the architecturally unique bridge as it was. The high bridge would have required a major reworking of the roads and ramps on the St. Augustine side including making a spiral ramp on the waterfront or taking over the historic park for the long approach.

The old bridge had deteriorated to the point of danger and the size of the lift span no longer met Coast Guard safety standards for the Intracoastal Waterway. FDOT hates opening bridges too.

Historic preservationists were horrified by the prospect of a modern, high bridge and its ramps on dominating the skyline of St. Augustine. Businesses on the St. Augustine Beach side felt the the narrow, two lane Bridge of Lions was hurting them and creating a real traffic bottleneck.

The compromise was to build a low bridge that met Coast Guard standards and was four lane while preserving/duplicating the appearance of the original bridge. Doing this required that a temporary bridge be built next to the old bridge which was removed and rebuilt.

This was undoubtedly a more expensive option, but the correct one given the location. Price isn't everything even with taxpayer money.

reednavy · October 23, 2009, 12:51:47 PM

The renderings show it as a two lane brdige still.

Jason · October 23, 2009, 01:30:56 PM

It will be two FDOT reg lanes with wider pedestrian walkways on both sides.

Dog Walker · October 23, 2009, 01:37:50 PM

Quote from: Jason on October 23, 2009, 01:30:56 PM
It will be two FDOT reg lanes with wider pedestrian walkways on both sides.

Whups! You are right! Senior moment. The old bridge was two, very narrow lanes and tiny sidewalks.

Jason · October 23, 2009, 01:47:04 PM

4 lanes would have been nice though.

buckethead · October 23, 2009, 07:50:36 PM

Elimination of the draw bridge, along with no temporary sbridge to be removed later seems like the smarter way to have gone.

Call me unsentimental, but this one was a huge waste, IMO.

reednavy · October 23, 2009, 08:28:29 PM

There is no room on the mainland side of the bridge for any expansion.

buckethead · October 23, 2009, 08:40:35 PM

Agreed, however they could have used the Island side ROW to lengthen the span. Even if elimination of the draw bridge was not feasible, the temporary bridge that was built is a huge waste.

Then to build a steel bridge on the ocean to replace a steel bridge seems a bit unwise.

reednavy · October 23, 2009, 08:54:45 PM

They're going to turn the temp. bridge into an offshore reef when it is all done.

Ocklawaha · October 23, 2009, 11:43:29 PM

What a refreshing post, those photos take one back to a simpler time. It SHOULD also demonstrate to "other" Northeast Florida cities what a bit of TLC for history will do. BRAVO, ST AUGUSTINE, BRAVO! VIVA SAN AGUSTIN!

Sure makes me sad for the memorial bridge in Palatka that was hacked to death when most of you were kids. Get ready for the fight to save the Grand Avenue Bridge in Ortega. Maybe money will talk? All three of these bridges were different, but in many respects similar, Palatka's was lined with statues from "The Great War" (wwI) like driving through a Greek temple. Only a few seem to have survived.

OCKLAWAHA

Dog Walker · October 24, 2009, 11:44:29 AM

Ock, I had completely forgotten the Memorial Bridge in Palatka until your post above. Instant flash of visual memory from way down in the banks! What a magnificent thing it was and moving every time you went across it.

Do you know where any of the statues went?

Bucket, in your mind take the Acosta Bridge and plot it down on the Sebastian River on the St. Augustine waterfront. Now add the spiral ramp from the parking garage at Baptist Hospital onto the mainland side in front of the A1A Ale house. Pretty sight? NOT! Appropriate for a historic city? No. Bad engineering? Bad traffic planning? Yes.