The Douglas Stenstrom Bridge, also known as the Osteen Bridge, is a steel-and-
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
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 ...
. The current bridge was completed in 1977, replacing a 1920s vintage bridge that was considered the most dangerous in the state; a second parallel span was completed in 2015.
History
The original Osteen Bridge, a hand-turned swing bridge, was built in the 1920s; it was rebuilt in 1947. The bridge is located just upstream from Lake Monroe, crossing the Indian Mound Slu portion of the river between Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup; by the 1970s the original bridge, only in width, proved dangerous and too narrow for continued use, being described as "the worst bridge in Florida" in 1972. In 1973, mats of invasive
water hyacinth
''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range. constructed by the Houdaille-Duval-Wright company of Jacksonville, the project cost approximately $2.6 million USD. The new bridge opened in April 1977, and was officially named the Douglas Stenstrom Bridge in 1978, after a Florida state senator Douglas Stenstrom who had pushed for the completion of the project. Part of the previous bridge was left in place, serving as a fishing pier.
Repairs to the bridge were undertaken during 2011. A second parallel bridge was completed in 2015 to support the widening of SR 415 to 2 lanes in each direction.