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FDOT
Mainstreet Bridge page
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
The massive Main Street Bridge has become a landmark in downtown
Jacksonville and was heralded as a major accomplishment when built at the
end of the 1930s to carry US 1 over the St. Johns River. Made of eleven
steel stringer spans and three Warren through trusses, the 365-foot long
continuous truss vertical lift span at the center is the longest in
Florida. The span-drive system, which puts the drive machinery on the
movable span, utilizes concrete counterweights enclosed within two large
steel frame towers. Although builders emphasized functional
considerations, the bridge produces an aesthetic effect through its
strength, 200-foot high lift towers, and commanding reach across the St.
Johns River measuring 1,680 feet in length.
Designing and building the bridge involved
several engineering and contracting organizations. Plans came from a team
composed of the Bridge Engineering Division of the State Road Department
and the consulting firm of Harrington and Cortelyou, engineers in Kansas
City, Missouri. Engineer John F. Reynolds of Jacksonville consulted on the
project and state bridge engineer E. S. Frazier supervised construction
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