Mathews Bridge work and pipe dreams...

[Jaxson]

Living off of University Boulevard in Arlington, I have become a captive of the latest work on the Mathews Bridge.  It is nearly impossible to be in a hurry when traveling south on University Blvd. toward Atlantic Boulevard.  The pace of traffic is non-existent.  Be ready to sit through two or three cycles of the traffic light. 
But enough about today's drudgery.
It made me wonder what would have happened if the city built a bridge that connected what was then the 20th Street Expressway and Fort Caroline Road.  Would that bridge have been helpful to us today?

[Charles Hunter]

It probably would have been, if they built it back in the 1960s, it probably would have - before Arlington developed so much.  If I remember correctly, the problem was the piers would have been in the river, which would have caused problems for the port at Talleyrand, and upriver.

[RiversideHusker]

No thoughts other than I got caught in that mess once and never again. I was ready to kill someone! And I love how they close the bridge all weekend, then open it at 6 am Sunday...need to make sure everyone can get to church on time.

[Dog Walker]

The original plan WAS to connect 20th st. with Ft. Caroline Road, but landowners on the current alignment managed to get it moved to the current location.  The current location also made the bridge cheaper to build. 

Did you ever wonder why there is that crazy right-angle curve at the end of 20th?

[cline]

The 1960 Duval County Transportation Study had that river crossing at 8th Street.  It was listed in the report as the 8th Street Expressway and basically went from 8th St. across the river over to Rogero Road.  The study said it would carry 50k vehicles per day in 1980.

The whole study is an interesting read, some of the ideas are pretty out there.  Some of which have come to fruition.

[thelakelander]

No thoughts other than I got caught in that mess once and never again. I was ready to kill someone! And I love how they close the bridge all weekend, then open it at 6 am Sunday...need to make sure everyone can get to church on time.

I got caught in it on Saturday while trying to get to Springfield from an Arlington fish fry.  Assuming it would be closed on Sunday, like you, I was shocked to see that it was open while making a similar trip from Arlington to the Westside.

[cline]

That is correct, it is open on Sunday for FBC.