The Shands Bridge is a two-lane automobile bridge carrying SR 16 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 ...

south of

Jacksonville, Florida 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 ...

History

The first structure at the site was a 2-mile-long wooden toll span with a draw bridge inaugurated in 1928. It was located just north of the current span, crossing from Orangedale to the present Shands pier on the west side of the river. The current bridge was dedicated on October 30, 1963, and features concrete beam-type construction for a total of two lanes. Until the building of the

I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for the following eight Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Interstate 295 (Florida), a be ...

Buckman Bridge it was the only crossing of the

between

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 ...

and Palatka. In 2004, proposals were made to replace or upgrade the span. Problems cited include increasing traffic in the

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

and St. Johns County areas, safety, and the inability of large boats to travel upriver. One plan proposed a new bridge north of the existing one, connecting to extensions of SR 9B and SR 23. Eventually a planned span just to the south was selected. In the fall of 2005, the railings of the bridge were upgraded to solid concrete barriers in an effort to reduce over-bridge fatalities. On October 7, 2016, the eastern approach to the bridge was eroded by

Hurricane Matthew Hurricane Matthew was a powerful tropical cyclone which caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as widespread devastation in the southeastern United States. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Stan ...

, and the bridge was closed. However, the bridge reopened on October 9, 2016.

First Coast Expressway Replacement

The third and final segment of the First Coast Expressway (also known as SR 23, which will connect I-10 and I-95 as a partial outer beltway around Jacksonville and Orange Park) includes a new four-lane bridge over the St. Johns River just south of where the Shands Bridge currently stands, as well as construction of new roadway connecting to I-95 in St. Johns County. Right-of-way acquisition, design and permitting for this $763 million segment is expected to be completed in 2020, with construction beginning in 2023 and ending in 2030. The current bridge will be partially removedhttps://fetch-storm.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=17d238b0dee64ce78f7441dff0e15765. The vertical clearance height of the new bridge will be 65 feet from the water line, compared to the existing 45 feet of clearance. The additional 20 feet will match the clearance of the Buckman Bridge to the north and Palatka's Memorial Bridge to the south and is an improvement for marine commerce in the region. In addition to the four lanes of traffic, the new bridge will also include street lighting, full breakdown lanes on both sides of the roadway in each direction, as well as a 12-foot wide

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, Bridle path, bridleways and ra ...

with several scenic overlooks, compared to the current bridge which has no street lighting or pedestrian path and only one lane of traffic in each direction surrounded by narrow shoulders.

Gallery

File:Old Shands Bridge.jpg, View of the remnants of the 1928 bridge from the current one File:Shands bridge 2.jpg, Westbound on Shands bridge with current barriers

References

External links

St. Johns River Crossing Corridor StudyNautical Chart
Bridges completed in 1929 Bridges completed in 1963 Bridges over the St. Johns River 1929 establishments in Florida Steel bridges in the United States Girder bridges in the United States Road bridges in Florida Transportation in Clay County, Florida Transportation in St. Johns County, Florida {{Florida-bridge-struct-stub

History

First Coast Expressway Replacement

Gallery

See also

References

External links