The Dames Point Bridge (officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge) is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

over the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States on the Interstate 295 East Beltway. Construction began in 1985 and was completed in 1989. The main span is , and is high. The bridge was designed by HNTB Corporation and RS&H, Inc. The Massman Construction Company built the bridge.

Design

The bridge's cables are arranged on multiple vertical planes in a slight modification to the harp (parallel) stay arrangement. Main span cables are paired to anchor into the tower in a vertical plane while side span cables pair up to anchor in a horizontal plane such that four cables anchor in each tower at approximately the same elevation.

Superlatives

Until the 2003 completion of the Sidney Lanier Bridge in Brunswick, Georgia, the Dames Point Bridge was the only bridge in the United States to feature the harp stay arrangement. It remains one of the largest

s in the United States, with of cable.

Gallery

Image:Northbound approaching Dames Point Bridge.jpg, The Dames Point Bridge, seen from northbound I-295 in December 2005 Image:Northbound on Dames Point Bridge.jpg, Northbound on the Dames Point Bridge in 2005. Image:Dames Point Bridge, Jacksonville FL Pano 2.jpg, The Dames Point Bridge in 2010 Image:Dames point bridge jax march05.jpg, The Dames Point Bridge in 2005 Image:Dames Point Bridge - 17 June 2013.JPG, The Dames Point Bridge at Night - 2013 File:Dames Point Bridge at Night - 17 June 2013.jpg, After Sunset 2013 File:Meetup DamesPt 6-14-10-9419.jpg, From the bottom in 2010 File:Long bridge (Unsplash).jpg, Its extent length in 2016 File:Dames Point Bridge Lance Asper (Unsplash lsCB9O lUwM).jpg, Road design on the bridge in 2016 File:Dames Point Bridge, Jacksonville FL 769.JPG, Another view of the bridge in 2010 File:BlountIslandMarineTerminalJax.JPG, View of the bridge from the port terminal in 2012 File:US Navy 081010-N-0486G-003 The guided-missile frigate USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) transits under the Dames Point Bridge, one of Jacksonville's many bridges, as they make their way to downtown Jacksonville.jpg, US Navy passing by the bridge in 2008

Accident

On May 15, 1989, while inspectors were checking the bridge for cracks and fissures, the boom arm holding a bucket snapped, leaving the bucket tilted on its side. One worker fell into the river below and the others were at risk of plummeting 145 feet down. The man in the river suffered a dislocated shoulder but was able to swim to safety. Rescuers rappelled down the side of the bridge to the other three workers and successfully brought them all to safety. The story of this rescue effort was aired on ''

Rescue 911 ''Rescue 911'' is an informational docudrama television series that premiered on CBS on April 18, 1989, and ended on August 27, 1996. The series was hosted by William Shatner and featured reenactments (and occasionally real footage) of emergenc ...

'' on September 12 of the same year.Shatner, William (host),
Rescue 911 - Episode 1.2 - Dames Point Bridge Rescue
" ''CBS.'' (Unauthorized YouTube video posted on 21 June 2011.)

References

External links