| Fuller Warren Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Elevation | |
| Carries | Interstate 95 |
| Crosses | St. Johns River |
| Locale | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Official name | Fuller Warren Bridge |
| Owner | FLDOT |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Concrete stringer bridge |
| Material | Concrete |
| Total length | 7,500 feet (including approaches); 2,533 feet (river crossing) |
| Width | 141 feet |
| Height | 75 feet |
| Longest span | 250 feet |
| History | |
| Opened | 1954, 2000, 2002 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | None since 1988 |
The Fuller Warren Bridge is a concrete stringer bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The bridge carries eight lanes of Interstate 95 over the river and is the busiest expressway crossing in the city of Jacksonville. Part of this is because a large stack interchange between I-95 and the eastern terminus of the transcontinental I-10 is located less than a mile north of the bridge.
The Fuller Warren Bridge is one of several bridges over the St. Johns River within the city of Jacksonville.
Naming[]
The name of the bridge is somewhat controversial, as Fuller Warren was the governor of Florida during the Civil Rights Movement, and is infamous for supporting segregation. Fuller Warren was a former member and eventual denouncer of the KKK, who held the office from 1949 to 1953. He was a member of the Jacksonville City Council from 1931 to 1937. The nearby Henry H. Buckman Bridge, a 4-mile causeway carrying the Jacksonville Beltway, is also named for a pro-segregation/slavery politician and thus is also controversial. Despite several attempts to rename both bridges over the years, the city has repeatedly determined that these times are an important part of their history and therefore should not be erased from public monuments and memorials, just because what was done in that time was wrong and now illegal.
History[]
The original bascule bridge was completed in 1954.
With the opening of its first section, I-95 was routed over the bridge in 1960.
The bridge was tolled until 1988, when the city of Jacksonville abolished toll collections.
In 1993, a incident occurred in which a 3 square feet (0.28 m2) fragment of concrete broke loose,
Increasing wear from heavy traffic forced officials to ban large trucks from the bridge in 1998.
New bridge and demolition of the old bridge[]
Conversion from the old Fuller Warren Bridge to the new one began with one lane of southbound I-95 traffic on April 16, 2000. Additionally, the frequent openings of the bascule span, as the bridge only provided a clearance of 24 feet when closed, caused major traffic delays and often snarled traffic in and around the city. The city began construction of a new, high-level wide bridge in 2000. Throughout early 2001, a one-way couplet pattern was in place with northbound traffic on the new bridge and southbound traffic on the old bridge due to construction delays with the western half of the new bridge. On June 13, 2001, the original bridge was permanently closed, and all traffic was routed onto the new bridge. The second span of the new bridge, was opened in late 2002, and the old span was restriped to carry four lanes, this expanded the crossing to eight lanes. The new spans were formally dedicated on January 13, 2003. After delays in removal because of legal and environmental concerns, the Florida Department of Transportation used explosives to complete the final explosive demolition of the old bridge on February 17, 2007. Completing the approximately $100 million project.
Fuller Warren Expansion Project (2017-2023)[]
In About 2013, The Florida State Department of Transportation (FDOT) began the Your10&95 project to add operational improvements and enhancements to the I-10, I-95 highway interchange in metro Jacksonville. A planning department held several public meetings to discuss the proposed project and the cost of its construction with residents, community partners and businesses. They also asked for input from the public attendees. The meetings were held on February 10, 2014, on August 28, 2014 and on February 26, 2015. During those meetings, it was suggested that as part of the widening project to add two additional traffic lanes to the Fuller Warren bridge, a pedestrian shared use path should be added as well. The proposed path over the St. Johns River would connect the Riverside and Avondale historic neighborhood with the San Marco historic neighborhood. As the current bridge provides for no pedestrian or bicycle access, the FDOT agreed to implement the shared use path suggestion, as well as a number of other requests, such as adding traffic noise barriers for residents. The project also includes improvements to the I-10 ramps at Stockton and Irene streets. Construction began May 5, 2017 and was expected to be completed in the summer of 2020. See Shared Use Path (SUP) renderings. On the morning of October 4, 2018, a fatal accident involving one of the construction workers caused a temporary suspension of the work. By March, 2019 the project was near half way construction
See also[]
- Dames Point Bridge
- Mathews Bridge
- Isaiah D. Hart Memorial Bridge
- John T. Alsop Jr. Memorial Bridge
- List of bridges within the Interstate 95 corridor