Bridge of Lions Rehabilitation - St. Augustine

[Ocklawaha]

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.

The placed a few at each end of the ugly faceless concrete monstrosity they created, the others I haven't a clue. Not to mention the lights, and the little "guard tower" alcoves where the saintly sailors, soldiers, and flyer's one stood. Great job FDOT.

Traffic planning in downtown St. Augustine is in a large part a product of the St. Johns Electric Railway, which crossed the bridge, went up King as well as the waterfront. At that time there were two bridges, one, Bridge of the Lions, and an older, wooden, St. Johns Electric Railway bridge to the south. They were only a couple hundred feet apart on the west side, I believe the Railway bridge, (which also had traffic and pedestrian lanes) lined up with King on the mainland. They converged at the Island, which has always been a choke point. This is why when you see photos of the Bridge of the Lions, from it's early years, you see only a single streetcar track in the westbound lane. The eastbound track was on the second bridge.

So bad engineering? Not at all. Lack of foresight? Absolutely! BTW, I don't think the "Modern Flexible Bus System," even lasted 10 years after the streetcar line was trashed. Can you imagine historic open air streetcars running on a sunny weekend day in the afternoon in St. Augustine? Christmas Eve? Wow, New Orleans, or San Francisco, would have NOTHING on the ancient city.

OCKLAWAHA

[buckethead]

My biggest objection to the BOL is the temporary bridge. They could have rerouted a similar bridge without the need to build a temp, only later to need to destroy it. Perhaps I'm wrongheaded here, and I am trying to learn new ways of thinking, but it just seems wasteful.

[TheProfessor]

The old bridge used to have a trolley line that went to Davis Shores I believe.

[Charles Hunter]

I'm guessing the businesses near the BOL would have complained mightily.  It would have made a five minute, one mile, trip from downtown to, say, O'Steens on the east end of the bridge, into a 9 mile trip via the 312 bridge.

[Ocklawaha]

The old bridge used to have a trolley line that went to Davis Shores I believe.

Don't have a map of it, but from what I recall, I believe you might be right. I KNOW that it ended at the beach, my guess would be somewhere near the Lighthouse. Both streetcar companies, in Saint Augustine, merged to form The St. Johns Electric RY.  The former companies tell something of their history in their titles:

1. St. Augustine and South Beach Railway
2. St. Augustine and North Beach Railway

Before abandonment to "modern city buses," two extensions were not only planned but some work was done on the grades. North Beach RY tried to reach Ponte Vedra. South Beach RY tried to reach South Jacksonville.

Off the subject somewhat but in the neighborhood of early electric rail, A car line in Ocala, proposed what was called "A GREAT INTERURBAN," to connect Ocala with the metropolis of Jacksonville. One can only guess what the route was, but the Ocklawaha Valley RR, taken up illegally in 1923, would have gotten them to Palatka, the original OVRR plan was to Jacksonville via East Palatka-SR13-JAX.
But nothing more ever came of either system. Sure would have been sweet today.

OCKLAWAHA

[Dog Walker]

Bucket, there just wasn't room to build a parallel bridge then take the old one down.  This works is most places, but simply wasn't possible there for a proper, new bridge.  The temporary bridge is just that.  There are no real foundations and it is really skinny and jammed up against the new/old bridge.  Lots of people are electing to go to the 312 bridge rather than cross the shaky thing.

BTW, O'steens is worth either route.  It is also evidently in all of the travel guides.  I translated the entire menu for a group of French tourists while standing in line one evening.  Ever tried to figure out how to say "hushpuppy" in French?

[Jason]

That bridge is also the tourism lifeline connection between DT and the beaches.  It is a local icon and a VERY distinctive piece of St. Augustine history.  To have it unnecessarily altered would be a travesty.  IMO, the city has done a great job maintaining its historical signifigance as the nations oldest city so why ruin all that hard work by letting the DOT have a go at moving the most traffic possible?

[Jason]

City seeking 27 to cross new bridge

1st people to walk across reopened Bridge of Lions to be randomly selected

Staff  |   Posted: Saturday, October 24, 2009 ; Updated: 12:59 AM on Saturday, October 24, 2009

The official opening of the new Bridge of Lions is less than three months away, and 27 people selected at random will be the first to walk across the bridge.

The group crossing the bridge first will be known as members of The '27 Club, named for the year when the bridge first opened.

Going across the bridge with them will be a parade of vehicles from the Ancient City Auto Club, with one car for each decade since the bridge initially was completed in 1927.

What isn't clear yet is just when the bridge will reopen, although city officials are sure it will be in January.

Planners are dealing with that uncertainty by setting everything up ahead of time so they'll be ready to go at not much more than a moment's notice.

The city is working with the Florida Department of Transportation; Tidewater-Skanska, the contractor for the project; and Save Our Bridge, the local advocacy group that has led efforts to keep the Bridge of Lions.

"The notice can be as short as 48 hours," said project spokeswoman Laurie Sanderson. "We'll try to give more than that."

The uncertainty comes from any last-minute problems subcontractors may encounter as well as a DOT "punch list" of tasks that have to be completed before the bridge can be approved.

The $82 million project began in February 2005, when the temporary bridge was installed. Traffic was switched from the original bridge in May 2006.

The city is organizing special programs to celebrate the reopening of St. Augustine's historic Bridge of Lions after what will be 42 months of restoration work.

"We're putting together a small but significant ceremony," said Paul K. Williamson, public affairs director for the City of St. Augustine.

When the ceremony is held, the rehabilitated bridge will be open to traffic that day. At the same time, Skanska will begin dismantling the temporary bridge, said Sanderson.

The center span can be removed in a month and used on another temporary bridge, Sanderson said. The rest of the bridge will be removed over the course of five or six months.

When that work is complete, landscaping will be done, and the two lions will be returned to their places on the bridge.

Another ceremony will be held at that time, Williamson said.


How to enter

The '27 Club -- the 27 people who will be the first to walk across the Bridge of Lions on its opening day -- will be chosen at random from names that are submitted by letter, postcard, fax or e-mail. All entries must be received by 5 p.m. Dec. 4.

City of St. Augustine staff will collect the names. The 27 who are chosen will be picked in a "blind" process by The St. Augustine Record.

To enter, send name, address, phone number and e-mail address (if available) to City of St. Augustine, Attn: The '27 Club, P.O. Box 210, St. Augustine, FL 32085; fax: (904) 825-1096, Attn: The '27 Club; or e-mail: the27club@citystaug.com.

For details, call (904) 825-1004 or go to www.the27club.info.

Source: http://www.staugustine.com/stories/102409/news_2110405.shtml

[reednavy]

Bridge is set to reopen a week from today.

Unlike what was previously thought, only part of the bridge will be used for a reef project, the temp span will be used somewhere else. I've been to St. Auggie a few times over the past 2 weeks, and the bridge looks very good.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/mostpopular/story/Bridge-of-Lions-set-to-reopen/RVtBbA3IrkCQZ1hSZesc_g.cspx

http://www.news4jax.com/news/22667154/detail.html

[Jason]

The bridge is looking fantastic.  Its going to be great to have the temp bridge out of the way and the icon back in action.

That bridge is to St. Augustine, what all of Jacksonville's bridges combined are to Jax.

[Jason]

City looks to light up Bridge of Lions
But sponsors are needed before idea becomes reality

Posted: March 10, 2010 - 12:09am

By JENNIFER EDWARDS




City officials say that restoration of the Bridge of Lions won't be complete until it can secure funding to light it from below -- especially with the 450th anniversary coming.

The bridge is set to reopen March 17 after a five-year-long, $80 million restoration project.

"At night, it disappears," City Commissioner Don Crichlow said. "This (added lighting) would make it as significant a landmark at the evening as it is at the day.  I think that's very critical."

Vice-Mayor Errol Jones agrees.

"I definitely think it's a great idea," he said. "I think it's going to really show that bridge and its ambience to the public on a 24-hour basis."

A conduit for the lighting was installed during construction, but a representative of architectural firm RS&H of Jacksonville said the lights were not installed. Had they been, the price would have been an additional $300,000. RS&H presented its design Monday to the city, which paid about $15,000 for its services.

Now that construction has wound down, installing the lights will be somewhat more costly because traffic would have to be redirected, David Lafitte, RS&H senior architect, said.

ABOUT THE LIGHTS

As it stands, the plan includes about 400 lights placed on the bridge.

Some would go beneath the sidewalks and would light the girders, and additional lighting would illuminate the piers and the bascule towers, Lafitte said.

"If you look at a lot of the architectural lighting on the buildings around town, it's the same principle," he said. "Using concealed lighting to render the architectural surfaces so they're visible at night."

City Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Klines said she was concerned with the light color shown in the mock-ups.

"The computer-generated graphics didn't truly reflect how the color and quality of the lights are on the bridge now," she said.

"They have kind of a warm orangey-glow and my understanding was they were chosen to reflect a historic gaslight appearance," she said. "I was concerned that the consultant had not taken that into consideration."

Crichlow agreed that the lights need to be in keeping with the bridge's historical nature.

"They know that we want to have a warm glow, a very warm lighting, to this," Crichlow said. "It will definitely be a warm light and not a white light."

St. Augustine Chief Operating Officer John Regan said the lighting would be cast by 26-watt bulbs with an effect that reminded him of under-cabinet lighting.

"The commission gave us the direction to look for a very soft lighting that meets the architectural needs of a historical bridge," he said.

Lafitte said the firm would test out several different light colors to find the one that's most compatible.

Installing the lighting would take six months at minimum from bid process to completion, he said.

FUNDING

Officials agree that lighting the bridge is a worthwhile endeavor but said the city cannot afford the project on its own.

"There's no money for this," Sikes-Kline said.

The city chipped in the money for the design and $20,000 to install the wiring conduit.

But it can't afford the current $300,000-plus price tag for the lighting itself.

The city is not seeking federal funding for the project for the next fiscal year because it was told the project would not likely be funded, Regan said by phone from Washington, D.C. Tuesday.

Regan and Mayor Joe Bolles are there to meet with congressional officials on the city's budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

"Congressman Mica is very supportive and would love to see the bridge lit," Regan said. "He is making inquiries into potential funding schemes and we are planning to talk to him about this (today)."

Wiley Deck, a spokesman for Rep. John Mica's office, said it could take up to a year to receive funding if the project is approved by the House and Senate during appropriations.

Lafitte said the city is considering a number of avenues including grants and funding from "various government entities."

Crichlow said the city is also seeking private funding.

"We're looking for a sponsor," he said. "We're looking for somebody -- a company, a corporation -- to step forward. If this is something they would like to connect their name to for the 450th, it would be a great community contribution."

Jones agreed.

"In light of the 450th coming up, we realize we are going to have to find some sponsor between now and 2015 who will sponsor that," he said. "Just like the Olympics or World Fair have done for other cities, I think this kind of 450th celebration could ... lead to greater things after it's all over."

About RS&H

The city selected RS&H of Jacksonville to design lighting for the Bridge of Lions.

The firm also designed lighting for four of Jacksonville's bridge. The lighting was installed for Superbowl 2005.

Those bridges were:

* The Hart Bridge

* The Main Street Bridge

* The Fuller Warren Bridge

* The Acosta Bridge.

Source: http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2010-03-10/city-looks-light-bridge-lions

[Jason]

This is an absolutely fantastic idea and can really set the bridge as a nightime icon as well.  Just look at what lighting the Main Street bridge did for it and Jacksonville's image.

[reednavy]

Wait, so they don't light the four "towers" beside the rising spans?

[Jason]

The insides of the towers were lit but very minimally.  There is also street lighting along the bridge.  This proposal is to light the underside of the bridge and better light the towers.

[reednavy]

Sounds delicious to me, get it done.