A clue: This city was previously a 'gateway to the south' and is home to an NFL team.
Figured out which city is home to "seven bridges?" This city is also home to a major river waterway, the St. Johns River and the NFL team the Jaguars. Well, by now you've probably figured out that it's Jacksonville, Florida that I'm talking about! Not very many people REALLY know that Jacksonville has been known not so long ago as the city of seven bridges.
Can you name all of those bridges? Generally, how I think about them is either alphabetically [as presented in this lens] or geographically. I usually can visualize these bridges as I think northeastern to southern Jacksonville. It also helps if you've traveled these bridges a lot like I have!
Quick, cast your vote!
What they have in common ...
All seven of these bridges are unique onto themselves in design, but they have one thing in common: the all cross over the St. Johns River!
Learn more about the St. Johns River
Some interesting books ...

Acosta Bridge at Night
Acosta Bridge at a glance
The Acosta Bridge spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida on a fixed span. It was named for City Councilman St. Elmo W. Acosta, who convinced voters to approve a $950,000 bond issue for the original bridge. It carries SR 13 (six lanes) with the two-track JTA Skyway in the median. Prior to its replacement in 1991, the bridge, originally called St. Johns River Bridge, opened in 1921 and carried three lanes (center one reversible) on a lift bridge. Tolls were charged until 1940, earning more than $4 million for the City of Jacksonville. At some time in 1991, the original bridge was closed to allow construction of the new one to proceed.
Despite being a freeway, bicycles are permitted on the main lanes of the bridge.
The Acosta Bridge is also notable because of the blue neon lights that illuminate it at night.
A lens on the Acosta Bridge
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Acosta Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 32,000
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The Acosta Bridge is definitely of one of my favorite bridges in Jacksonville, Florida. It's a fixed span, which is great as you don't need to wait while it's raised and lowered for boat traffic below. It's also very clean and relatively short. But,...
The buzz on the Acosta Bridge
- Acosta Bridge
- Acosta Bridge, originally uploaded by robert_vst. Acosta Bridge Crossing the St. Johns river in Jack...
- Attorneys disagree over what cell phone records prove ...
- Hartsfield's phone shows an incoming call from another cousin picked up by a tower near the Acosta B...
- Vets want to save Navy ship as museum in Jacksonville ...
- A proposal to temporarily put the Adams at the Shipyards site downtown was rejected this month, lead...
- gustavo reveles acosta: bridge-crossers know about congestion
- el paso -- the texas department of transportation says that el paso has just two of the 100 most con...

Buckman Bridge Traffic
Buckman Bridge at a glance
The Buckman Bridge carries I-295 traffic over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It was named for Henry Holland Buckman, a prominent legislator and attorney who was instrumental in establishing a state road system.
It is of beam-type construction, approximately 3.1 miles (5 km) in length, and travels roughly east-west. The eastbound (southbound) and westbound (northbound) lanes are built on separate bridge structures. About 1995, it was expanded from two lanes in each direction with no breakdown lanes to four lanes in each direction with breakdown lanes. With two busy exits within a half mile of either end of the bridge, rush-hour backups are typical. Downtown Jacksonville and Naval Air Station Jacksonville are visible from the bridge to the north. On a clear day, the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Palatka can be seen to the south of the bridge.
A lens on the Buckman Bridge
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Buckman Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 119,000
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When I first moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1992, someone warned me about driving on the Buckman Bridge. "You don't want to get stuck in rush hour traffic on the Buckman!" That warning did make an impression on me because for several years, I woul...
The buzz on the Buckman Bridge
- 2009 hurricane season very tame, so far | Jacksonville.com
- About 5 p.m. that day, the spout formed just north of the Buckman Bridge and over the next 40 minute...
- Meet the cat rescued under Buckman Bridge | Jacksonville.com
- James Sigler heard a cat crying.But there was a problem: He was in a boat in the middle of the St. J...
- Meet the cat rescued under Buckman Bridge - FIREFOXNEWS ONLINE™
- For the following story Firefoxnewsonline acknowledges Jacksonville News. For the following photo Fi...
- Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Society
- Sunday Services held starting at 10:30 am with fellowship and refreshments held after the service. A...

Dames Point Bridge at Night
Dames Point Bridge at a glance
The Dames Point Bridge (officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida on State Road 9A. Construction began in 1985 and it was completed in 1989. Remarkably, no workers were killed during construction. The main span is 1300 feet, and is 175 feet high. The bridge was designed by HNTB Corporation.
Until the completion of the Sidney Lanier Bridge in Brunswick, Georgia in 2003, it was the only bridge in the United States to feature the harp (parallel) stay arrangement. The cables are arranged on multiple vertical planes, making a slight modification to the harp arrangement. Main span cables are paired to anchor into the tower in a vertical plane. Side span cables pair up to anchor in a horizontal plane. By doing this, four cables anchor in the tower at approximately the same elevation.
A lens on the Dames Point Bridge
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Dames Point Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 30,000
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Of all the bridges in Jacksonville, Florida, the Dames Point Bridge is by far the most attractive. It spans two miles and was completed in 1989. When I worked for a terpene chemicals company on the northside, I traveled on this bridge twice daily for...
The buzz on the Dames Point Bridge
- Former Jacksonville chamber research director dies | Jacksonville.com
- Along the way, Mr. Parker was president of the Civitan Club of Jacksonville, on the board of the Arl...
- The Normanist Theory: Florida will be gone altogether, the whole ...
- I've seen all kinds of things happen from the top of my favorite bridge (the Dames Point Bridge) tha...
- men working on dames point bridge
- maxcap60 posted a photo: men working on dames point bridge. dames point bridge fl-9a saint john's ri...
- dames point bridge getting work done
- maxcap60 posted a photo: dames point bridge getting work done. dames point bridge fl-9a saint john's...

Fuller Waren Bridge: Before!
Fuller Warren Bridge at a glance
The Fuller Warren Bridge is a prestressed concrete girder bridge that carries I-95 across the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The current bridge was completed in October 2002, replacing the original bascule bridge span completed in 1954. The current bridge was designed by HNTB Corporation in 1990. The entire bridge is over . long, with a main span of , and a vertical clearance of . The bridge now carries eight lanes across the span.
The original bascule bridge was tolled until 1988, when the city of Jacksonville abolished toll collections.
A lens on the Fuller Warren Bridge
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Fuller Warren Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 139,000
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Thank goodness for segmental bridges like the new Fuller Warren Bridge. The old bridge, built in 1954, was "antique-like" for the amount of traffic that Jacksonville, Florida boasts. You see the old bridge was a bascule which basically means a moveab...
The buzz on the Fuller Warren Bridge
- Tyrone Hartsfield found guilty of shooting Jaguar Richard Collier ...
- After the show, he and Pressley went straight home to Pickettville, traveling over the Fuller Warren...
- fuller warren bridge
- davidgano posted a photo: fuller warren bridge.
- law & disorder: one dead after wreck on fuller warren bridge
- a man trying to help the driver of a broken-down vehicle was killed friday night in a wreck that jam...
- Attorneys disagree over what cell phone records prove ...
- But Blais also told Hartsfield's lawyers the trail could be consistent with Hartsfield taking the Fu...

Hart Bridge Eastbound Traffic
Hart Bridge at a glance
The Isaiah David Hart Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It is named after Isaiah Hart, the founder of Jacksonville. The bridge has traditionally been painted green and is often referred to as "The Green Monster" by locals.Florida Times UnionJax Air News The westbound end of the bridge delivers drivers to downtown Jacksonville or Martin Luther King Expressway, while the eastbound end sends motorists to Beach Boulevard. Daily traffic is 47,000 vehicles. The stretch of highway between downtown and Beach Blvd. is known as the Commodore Point Expressway, but more commonly referred to by locals as the Hart Bridge Expressway.
A lens on the Hart Bridge
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Hart Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 47,000
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The Hart Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida is the major bridge we travel when crossing the St. Johns River for Jacksonville Jaguars games. It drops us at the stadium a short distance from our tailgating parking lot. Other traffic usually arrives into d...
The buzz on the Hart Bridge
- Jacksonville sheriff's detective dies in Hart Bridge crash ...
- Jacksonville sheriff's detective Robert ?Bobby? Ford died Wednesday afternoon after likely havin...
- JSO Detective Dies While Driving Hart Bridge - Local News on wokv.com
- Detective Robert Ford was making the drive across the Hart Bridge around 1pm when he reportedly went...
- Covered bridge on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
- Hart bridge, over the Housatonic River.
- Jacksonville police officer found dead in patrol car www ...
- A veteran Jacksonville officer died Wednesday afternoon in his unmarked police car on the Hart Bridg...

Main Street Bridge at Night
Main Street Bridge at a glance
The Main Street Bridge is a bridge crossing the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the second bridge built across the river. It carries four lanes of traffic, and is signed as U.S. Route 1/US 90 (SR 5/SR 10). The lift bridge opened in July 1941 at a cost of $1.5 million. In 1957 it was named after Mayor John T. Alsop, Jr., but continues to be known, even on road signs, as the Main Street Bridge.
A lens on the Main Street Bridge
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Main Street Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 21,400
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If you drive into downtown Jacksonville from the southside, you'll most likely cross over the Main Street Bridge. What's interesting is that I don't recall ever being stopped for this lift bridge when traveling into downtown; only when traveling out...
The buzz on the Main Street Bridge
- Downtown Jacksonville's Bay Street to be two-way road between ...
- Heading into downtown Jacksonville via the Main Street bridge takes you within a block of the bars a...
- Georgia Fans: Keep the Game in Jacksonville - Local News on wokv.com
- The Main Street Bridge is Florida Blue The Mathews Bridge is Florida State garnet. The Hart Bridge i...
- Burkhalter's salvage yard is where old Jacksonville goes, hoping ...
- Check out, for example, several marble slabs from a Masonic lodge, each with a long list of names â...
- Urban Neighborhoods: Fletcher Park | Metro Jacksonville
- Jacksonville Florida | Now fully integrated into San Marco, the neighborhood of Fletcher Park is one...

Mathews Bridge: Below Shot
Mathews Bridge at a glance
The Mathews Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida spans the St. Johns River, bringing traffic along Arlington Expressway between Arlington and Downtown. It was named after John E. Mathews, a Florida state legislator and Chief Justice of the 1955 Florida Supreme Court who helped gather funding for the bridge's construction. [http://www.unf.edu/library/sc/mathewsbio.html]
A lens on the Mathews Bridge
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Mathews Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 66,500
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The Mathews Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida spans the St. Johns River, bringing traffic along Arlington Expressway between Arlington and Downtown. It was named after John E. Mathews, a Florida state legislator and Chief Justice of the 1955 Florida Su...
The buzz on the Mathews Bridge
- Georgia Fans: Keep the Game in Jacksonville - Local News on wokv.com
- The Mathews Bridge is Florida State garnet. The Hart Bridge is Miami-Fl A&M Green Don't you...
- traffic advisories, inverness county
- local area office: 902-625-4200 fax: 902-625-1946 --- inverness county: mathews bridge mathews bridg...
- Mathews Bridge Eastbound Lanes Closed
- JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Mathews Bridge eastbound lanes are closed due to an accident.
- rf00272 - view looking at the john e. mathews bridge under ...
- view looking at the john e. mathews bridge under construction.
Interesting books on Jacksonville
Can you now identify ...
Drop me a line and tell me WHY?
Which one of these bridges is YOUR favorite and WHY? Love 'em or hate 'em? Let me know! Feel free to vent with any frustrations ... especially crossing that Buckman Bridge daily! Yikes!!!
dc64 wrote...
When I lived in Savannah, we would regularly go to Jacksonville to take the kids to the awesome science museum there. I didn't realize the city had seven bridges, though. It's a beautiful place, however, and I loved going there, but I don't like driving over tall bridges.
JenniferAkers wrote...
Interesting that all seven bridges cross the St. John's River. The name of the Main Street Bridge is neat, too, in that my maiden name was similar to the bridge's honored Mayor Alsop (my name has an extra "l"). Excellent lens - I enjoyed all the facts and especially the photos of all the bridges. Welcome to the group, Fun in Florida.
P.S. Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery!
Say, did you know that there's actually a restaurant, Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery, in southside Jacksonville that's named in honor of the seven bridges.

Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery
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