The TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl parade will make an adjustment to its normal Downtown parade route Dec. 31 because of damage to South Liberty Street and a 3-ton weight limit on the street and Coastline Drive.
The parade is part of the game's festivities and will start at 3 p.m. from the staging area along Bay Street across from the Maxwell House factory.
The parade route is down East Bay Street, turns left on South Newnan Street, right on Water Street and passes in front of the Landing before finishing at the Osborn Center.
"The show will go on," said Tom Norton, Gator Bowl events manager.
Both the Florida Department of Transportation and City are working to fix damage to the sidewalk on South Liberty Street. The department has $800,000 budgeted in 2013 for a study on options for fixing the street, which is considered a bridge because it is constructed on pilings over the St. Johns River from the rear of the former Duval County Courthouse.
The department also has $2.3 million budgeted in 2015 for the design of roadway improvements and $2.9 million budgeted in 2017 for right-of-way purchases.
The City plans to begin removing debris from the damaged area in about two weeks and will investigate the damaged area after removal, said Bill Joyce, chief of engineering and construction management for the City Public Works Department.
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