by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The Main Street and Hart bridges will be getting major facelifts over the next year and a half.
The Florida Department of Transportation plans to repaint both bridges, starting later this summer. According to FDOT spokesman Mike Goldman, it will take about 420 days to do the Main Street Bridge and 450 days to paint the Hart Bridge.
“This is to meet the Super Bowl deadline. That’s the driving force,” said Goldman of the Feb. 6, 2005 game, adding it’s no mystery the Hart Bridge — which hasn’t been painted in over a decade — needs some work. “We are well-aware of what the Hart Bridge looks like and well-aware that the Super Bowl executive committee wants a highly-polished image for the Super Bowl.”
However, because both bridges will be completely closed at night and on the weekends, getting downtown will take longer and not everyone is pleased with that situation.
“The First Baptist Church isn’t happy,” said Goldman. “We have created computer models for the detours and they show it will take about an extra 10 minutes to get there.”
Goldman said despite the fact the projects will ultimately prove beneficial, until they’re done, land and road closures can be nuisances.
“We’re in a difficult position and know this will be inconvenient to people,” he said. “But rather than close the bridges during rush hour, we’d rather do it on the weekends and not make people late for work. I’ve taken lots of complaints from the public and rightfully so.”
Next Thursday, FDOT is holding an open meeting where they will lay out the parameters of the projects, including time, cost and who and how the projects will affect. The meeting is from 5-7 p.m. in the training center at FDOT’s urban office on Irene Street in Riverside. Several downtown organizations, including the City, First Baptist, Downtown Vision, Inc. and the Landing have been invited to hear the presentation and ask questions.
Landing general manager John Kiddy said he’s quite familiar with closures of the Main Street Bridge and doesn’t believe — even though the project will take well over a year — it will negatively affect the Landing or his tenants.
“I think as long as they [FDOT] make sure there is good signage on [Interstate] 95 directing people to the Acosta Bridge it won’t be a problem,” said Kiddy. “The Acosta is just as easy. I think people use the Main Street Bridge out of habit, but the Acosta may actually be easier. I don’t think it matters. The locals know how to get here.”
First Baptist has a different take on the matter. Church leaders fear the closures, subsequent detours and extra time will have an adverse affect on weekend service attendance.
“If they carry this through, it will definitely be an inconvenience,” said Rev. Doug Pigg, an assistant pastor at First Baptist. “If you are trying to funnel as many people downtown as we do on the weekend, closing two of the bridges is an inconvenience.”
Pigg said about 8,000 people attend Sunday morning services at the church and a large percentage of them return Sunday and Wednesday night. Pigg says the closures will also affect the Landing, FridayFest and attendance at Jacksonville Suns games. He’d like the FDOT to look at what other cities with similar projects and geography do when they opt to paint a bridge.
“I don’t believe New York City shuts its bridges down to paint them,” said Pigg. “I don’t think Boston does. I don’t think Atlanta does.”
Pigg is also concerned about safety.
“If we have a wreck on the Mathews Bridge and the other two are closed, it will shut the city down,” he said, adding considering how much the church has invested downtown over the years he hopes more consideration is given to its members.
A study done by FDOT indicates, on average, those heading downtown from the Southside will need to set aside an extra nine minutes to make the trip, using the Acosta Bridge instead of either the Main Street or Hart bridges. Goldman said the FDOT is sympathetic to everyone who will be affected, but stressed there’s nothing more they can do to alleviate the situation. He said it’s unfortunate, but FDOT often finds itself in the unenviable position of causing traffic problems while trying to make improvements.
“Our point is, in order to get the bridges painted and in good physical appearance, we are going to have to shut down both bridges at night and on weekends,” said Goldman, adding a few exceptions will be made. “Obviously, for Jaguars football games, the Georgia-Florida game and the Gator Bowl, we’ll leave the bridges open. But with those games you are talking 60,000 to 70,000 to 80,000 people.”
The cost to paint the Main Street Bridge will run about $7.3 million while the Hart will come in around $10 million. Goldman said there are incentive bonuses available to the contractor — $750,000 for the Hart and $150,000 for the Main Street — should the projects be totally complete before the Super Bowl.