Motorists driving across the Dames Point bridge Monday might want to say “happy anniversary.â€
It was 25 years ago that the cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River opened to cut minutes and miles off a trip that before March 10, 1989, would have meant using one of the downtown Jacksonville bridges.
The bridge is a main artery on the Interstate 295 East Beltway. It connects Arlington, the Beaches, and Southside with the Northside.
About 70,000 cars and trucks a day travel across the 2-mile bridge, officially named the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge in honor of a Jacksonville native who served as Florida’s governor as well as Duval County sheriff.
“It’s part and parcel of the growth of Jacksonville,†said Tommy Hazouri, who was a state legislator when the bridge project began and Jacksonville mayor when it was finished.
Aesthetically, it’s a real icon. But it’s also significant from a utility standpoint. The bridge serves both people and the economy, Hazouri said.
“I think it is a great asset to Jacksonville, opening up the Northside, North Jacksonville and the Southside,†he said.
It was 25 years ago that the cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River opened to cut minutes and miles off a trip that before March 10, 1989, would have meant using one of the downtown Jacksonville bridges.
The bridge is a main artery on the Interstate 295 East Beltway. It connects Arlington, the Beaches, and Southside with the Northside.
About 70,000 cars and trucks a day travel across the 2-mile bridge, officially named the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge in honor of a Jacksonville native who served as Florida’s governor as well as Duval County sheriff.
“It’s part and parcel of the growth of Jacksonville,†said Tommy Hazouri, who was a state legislator when the bridge project began and Jacksonville mayor when it was finished.
Aesthetically, it’s a real icon. But it’s also significant from a utility standpoint. The bridge serves both people and the economy, Hazouri said.
“I think it is a great asset to Jacksonville, opening up the Northside, North Jacksonville and the Southside,†he said.