Florida Buzz: A new St Johns River crossing being studied

A new crossing of the St Johns River between Orange Park and Green Cove Springs is being studied by the D.O.T. This new bridge if built will provide an effective connection between Blanding Blvd. to I-95 and would replace the aging Shands bridge. The D.O.T. is considering making the bridge and its approach routes a limited access toll road.If the D.O.T. is to seriously improve traffic flow over the St Johns River, not only must this traffic corridor be built, but improvements must be made to the Matthews Bridge which cannot handle the current traffic load that uses to bridge to travel from Downtown Jacksonville to Arlington. The Matthews Bridge is a Cantilever Truss Bridge, similar in age, design and length to the original Talmadge Bridge in Savannah and the Grace Memorial Bridge in Charleston. Both those bridges have been replaced in favor of Cable Stayed bridges similar to Jacksonville's Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge at Dames Point. The Matthews Bridge is also similar in design to the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge which was replaced after the 1980 disaster, and like that bridge it does not meet Interstate standards for shoulder length or lane width.

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