Jacksonville's Bridges by the Numbers: The Blue One, the Green One, the Tall One and the Longest One

Jacksonville is the River City, and the St. Johns River splits it in two. Seven highway bridges carry drivers across the river in Duval County, along with a ferry at the mouth, a railroad drawbridge downtown and, a short drive south, the Shands Bridge and St. Augustine's Bridge of Lions.

Most of us cross at least one of them every week without thinking about it. Here's what's behind the names, the colors and the numbers.

The quick list

Going upriver, from the ocean toward downtown and then south:

And in St. Augustine, the Bridge of Lions has crossed the Matanzas River since 1927.

The record holders

• Longest: the Buckman Bridge, at 16,300 feet, a little more than 3 miles.
• Tallest: the Dames Point Bridge. Its two towers rise 471 feet, and ships get 175 feet of clearance underneath.
• Oldest still standing in Jacksonville: the Main Street Bridge, opened in July 1941.
• Biggest single span: the Hart Bridge's main span of 1,088 feet, among the longest for a truss bridge anywhere in the world.
• Oldest crossing: the Mayport Ferry, which has carried people across the river's mouth in some form since the 1870s.

Dames Point Bridge: the tall one

Opened: March 10, 1989 Official name: Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge, after the Florida governor who was born in Duval County Carries: I-295, the East Beltway, six lanes

The Dames Point is the bridge you see from miles away, with its two concrete towers and fans of cables. It's a cable-stayed bridge, meaning the roadway hangs from cables running straight down from the towers.

• Total length: 10,646 feet
• Main span between the towers: 1,300 feet
• Tower height: 471 feet
• Clearance for ships: 175 feet
• Cable: about 21 miles of it

The height matters. The Dames Point sits between downtown and the ocean, so container ships headed to JAXPORT's terminals pass underneath. Until 2003, it was the only bridge in the country with its cables in a "harp" pattern, running parallel like the strings of a harp.

Mathews Bridge: the maroon one

Opened: April 15, 1953 Named for: John E. Mathews, a Florida legislator and later chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, who helped find the money to build it Carries: the Arlington Expressway, four lanes

The Mathews Bridge gave drivers a direct route between downtown and Arlington.

• Length: 7,376 feet
• Longest span: 810 feet
• Original cost: $11 million, paid with bonds and tolls

Why it's maroon: The Mathews was originally silver. In 1984, it was painted garnet to celebrate the Jacksonville Bulls, the city's team in the short-lived United States Football League.

The day a ship hit it: In September 2013, a Navy cargo ship, the USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin, struck the bridge's center span. The Mathews stayed closed for about a month, until repairs were finished on Oct. 29, 2013.

Hart Bridge: the Green Monster

Opened: Nov. 2, 1967 Named for: Isaiah D. Hart, who founded Jacksonville Carries: US 1 Alternate, four lanes, toward the stadium and the Southbank

Locals call it the Green Monster, and the name fits. It's a giant steel truss bridge, traditionally painted green.

• Length: 3,844 feet
• Main span: 1,088 feet, one of the longest truss spans in the world
• Clearance for ships: 141 feet
• Cost: $8.83 million

Like several Jacksonville bridges, the Hart was paid for with tolls. The city removed them in 1989.

Main Street Bridge: the Blue Bridge

Opened: July 1941 Official name: John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge, after a former Jacksonville mayor, renamed in 1957. Almost nobody calls it that, and even the road signs say Main Street Bridge. Carries: US 1 and US 90, four lanes plus sidewalks

The Blue Bridge is downtown's postcard, lit up at night between the Northbank and the Southbank. It's a vertical lift bridge: the middle section rises straight up, like an elevator, to let tall boats pass.

• Length: 1,680 feet
• Lift span: 365 feet
• Clearance: 16 feet when it's down, 135 feet when it's raised
• Original cost: $1.5 million. Construction started in 1938.

In 2014, an $11 million renovation upgraded its barriers and sidewalks.

Acosta Bridge: the one with the Skyway

Current bridge opened: August 1994 Named for: St. Elmo W. Acosta, a city councilman who persuaded voters to approve a $950,000 bond issue for the first bridge Carries: State Road 13, six lanes, with the JTA Skyway running down the middle

The first Acosta Bridge, a steel lift bridge, opened in 1921. It had three lanes, including one reversible lane. The current concrete bridge replaced it in 1994.

• Length: 1,645 feet
• Clearance: 81 feet

It's the only river bridge in Jacksonville with a train on it. The two-track Skyway crosses in the median.

Fuller Warren Bridge: I-95's bridge

Current bridge opened: 2002 Named for: Fuller Warren, Florida's governor from 1949 to 1953 Carries: Interstate 95

The original Fuller Warren Bridge, opened June 7, 1954, was a steel drawbridge that charged tolls until 1988. Picture I-95 traffic stopping for a drawbridge.

The current high-level concrete bridge replaced it. It was finished in October 2002 at a cost of about $100 million.

• Length: 7,500 feet
• Clearance: 75 feet

The newest feature: In April 2023, a shared-use path for walkers and cyclists opened on the bridge, connecting Riverside and San Marco.

Buckman Bridge: the longest one

Opened: May 1, 1970 Named for: Henry Holland Buckman, a legislator and attorney who helped create Florida's state road system Carries: I-295, the West Beltway, between Mandarin and Orange Park

At 16,300 feet, or about 3.09 miles, the Buckman is by far the longest bridge in the Jacksonville area. It's low and flat, running across one of the widest parts of the river.

It opened with two lanes in each direction. A second span, finished in 1995, doubled it to four lanes each way, and it's one of the busiest crossings in Northeast Florida.

Shands Bridge: the one being replaced

Current bridge opened: 1963 Named for: Alvin G. Shands Carries: State Road 16, between Green Cove Springs in Clay County and St. Johns County

The first crossing here was a wooden toll bridge with a drawbridge, opened in 1928. For decades, the Shands was the only way across the St. Johns between Jacksonville and Palatka.

• Length: 6,662 feet
• Clearance: 45 feet

What's coming: A $595 million project to replace it, part of the First Coast Expressway, started in 2024 and is scheduled to finish in 2030. The new bridge, just south of the current one, will have four lanes, 65 feet of clearance and a 12-foot path for walkers and cyclists.

Bridge of Lions: St. Augustine's landmark

Opened: Feb. 26, 1927 Crosses: the Matanzas River, from downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island

The Bridge of Lions is a double-leaf drawbridge: two sections lift up from the middle to let boats through.

• Length: 1,545 feet
• Clearance when closed: 25 feet
• On the National Register of Historic Places since Nov. 19, 1982

The rebuild: From 2004 to 2010, the bridge was rebuilt to look like the original. The project cost $80 million, and the bridge reopened March 17, 2010.

The lions: The marble lions at the west end, copies of the famous Medici lions in Florence, Italy, were a gift from Dr. Andrew Anderson. They were removed in February 2005 during the rebuild and came back in March 2011.

During Nights of Lights, the bridge is one of the best spots in town to see the city lit up.

The Mayport Ferry: the crossing that isn't a bridge

Route: State Road A1A, between the fishing village of Mayport and Fort George Island Operator: Jacksonville Transportation Authority, since 2016

A ferry has crossed near the mouth of the St. Johns in some form since 1874. Today, the ferry Jean Ribault, built in 1996, carries up to 40 vehicles and 206 passengers and leaves about every half hour.

Why it matters: Without the ferry, getting between Mayport and Fort George Island means driving about 28 miles around through the Dames Point Bridge.

One more: the railroad drawbridge

Just downstream of the Fuller Warren, the Florida East Coast Railway's Strauss trunnion drawbridge carries freight trains across the river. It's a drawbridge too, so it lifts to let boats pass.

Bridge colors, at a glance

• Blue: the Main Street Bridge
• Green: the Hart Bridge ("the Green Monster")
• Maroon/garnet: the Mathews Bridge, since 1984
• White concrete: the Dames Point, Acosta and Fuller Warren

Have a favorite bridge photo or a story about crossing one of these bridges? Send it to [email protected].