The Fuller Warren Bridge is the prestressed-concrete

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

that carries Interstate 95 (I-95) across the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. The current structure was finished in October 2002, replacing the original bascule-bridge span, finished in 1954. The current bridge was designed by

HNTB HNTB Corporation is an American infrastructure design firm. Founded in 1914 in Kansas City, Missouri, HNTB began with the partnership made by Ernest Emmanuel Howard with the firm Waddell & Harrington, founded in 1907. Considered as one of the m ...

Corporation in 1990 and built by

Balfour Beatty Construction Balfour Beatty Construction, is a commercial construction company, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with full service offices in the United States. Balfour Beatty Construction's parent company is Balfour Beatty in London. History Balfour Beatty ...

. It is over long, with a main span of , and a vertical clearance of . It carries eight lanes across the span. In the Spring of 2018 a construction project began to add two more lanes and a shared-use path to the bridge, with anticipated completion in Summer 2022. The eastern end of the transcontinental

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

(I-10) meets I-95 just west of the bridge.

Naming

The bridge is named after former Florida governor

Fuller Warren Fuller Warren (October 3, 1905September 23, 1973) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of Florida. Early life and education Born in Blountstown, Florida, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesvil ...

, former member and eventual denouncer of the

KKK The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, who held the office from 1949 to 1953. He was a member of the Jacksonville City Council from 1931 to 1937.

Original bridge

The original bascule bridge was tolled until 1988, when the city of Jacksonville abolished toll collections. Increasing wear from heavy traffic, including a 1993 incident in which a fragment of concrete broke loose, forced officials to ban large trucks from the bridge in 1998. It was permanently closed June 13, 2001, when all traffic was moved to the new Fuller Warren Bridge. After delays in removal because of legal and environmental concerns, the Florida Department of Transportation used explosives to complete demolition of the old bridge on February 17, 2007.

Switch to new bridge

Conversion from the old Fuller Warren Bridge to the new one began with one lane of southbound I-95 traffic on April 16, 2000. The new bridge, built at a cost of approximately $100 million, was opened to all eight lanes in late 2002 and formally dedicated on January 13, 2003.

Fuller Warren Expansion Project (2017)

About 2013, The Florida State Department of Transportation (FDOT) began the Your10&95 project to add operational improvements and enhancements to the I-10, I-95 highway interchange in metro Jacksonville. A planning department held several public meetings to discuss the proposed project and the cost of its construction with residents, community partners and businesses. They also asked for input from the public attendees. The meetings were held on February 10, 2014, on August 28, 2014 and on February 26, 2015. During those meetings, it was suggested that as part of the widening project to add two additional traffic lanes to the Fuller Warren bridge, a pedestrian

shared use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

should be added as well. The proposed path over the

would connect the

Riverside and Avondale Riverside and Avondale are two adjacent and closely associated neighborhoods, alternatively considered one continuous neighborhood, of Jacksonville, Florida. The area is primarily residential, but includes some commercial districts, including Fi ...

historic neighborhood with the

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint ...

historic neighborhood. As the current bridge provides for no pedestrian or bicycle access, the FDOT agreed to implement the shared use path suggestion, as well as a number of other requests, such as adding traffic

noise barrier A noise barrier (also called a soundwall, noise wall, sound berm, sound barrier, or acoustical barrier) is an exterior structure designed to protect inhabitants of sensitive land use areas from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effecti ...

s for residents. The project also includes improvements to the I-10 ramps at Stockton and Irene streets. Construction began May 5, 2017 and was expected to be completed in the summer of 2020. Se
Shared Use Path (SUP) renderings
On the morning of October 4, 2018, a fatal accident involving one of the construction workers caused a temporary suspension of the work. By March, 2019 the project was near half way construction.

References

External links