The St. Augustine Record
Sunday, July 7, 1999

Port votes to restore bridge
By Mike Grogan
Staff Writer

By the narrowest of margins the St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach Commission has thrown its support behind restoration of the Bridge of Lions.

The commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to pass a resolution written by member Richard Gleeson that urges rehabilitation rather than replacement of the 72-year-old bridge.

“I think it’s important the board take a stand,” Gleeson said. “This is not just a nuts-and-bolts issue. The old bridge is important to the community.”

Passage of the resolution came one day before the Department of Transportation (DOT) was to stop accepting public comments on the controversial issue. It is the DOT that will decide the bridge's fate.

Joe Stephenson, regional planning administrator for DOT, was at Tuesday’s meeting but would not comment on whether the vote will have an impact on the final decision.

“I just don’t know,” he said.

The leader of a group that has fought to preserve the structure was optimistic about the vote.

“I think we’ve made a strong point (for preserving the bridge), and that’s evident in the vote," Theresa Segal of Save Our Bridge said. "As an elected board, I would think (the commission) vote should carry as much if not more weight than other public comments.”

The two board members who voted against the resolution — Eddy Mussallem and chairman David Ponce — both argued that the issue was outside the purview of the commission.

“Our jurisdiction ends at the water line,” Ponce stated. “(My vote) has nothing to do with whether I think we should replace or restore the bridge.”

In 1995 the commission passed a resolution that took the middle ground. It supported state-of-the-art fendering for safety but did not take a stand on whether the old bridge or a new bridge was favored.

But Jack McGuiness said things have changed since that resolution was passed.

“We have more information now,” he stated. “For one, the DOT’s environmental impact statement says that rehaibilitation of the bridge would be safe and adequate.”

One of the primary arguements for replacing the bridge is the U.S. Coast Guard’s requirement for a wider channel beneath the bridge. The current width is just under 80 feet.

“The Coast Guard has not convinced me that a 125-foot channel is necessary,” McGuinnes said.

Jerry Dixon, who voted with Gleeson and McGuiness to pass the resolution, agreed.

“The channel under the new (State Road) 312 bridge is only 90 feet,” he noted. “That’s a difference of only 10 feet.”

The resolution states that the Bridge of Lions “is an essential part of St. Augustine’s historic ambiance.” It endorses rehabilitation of the bridge “in recognition of (its) historic and aesthetic value.”

Mussallem, who has long supported replacement over restoration shrugged off the vote.

“My gut feelin is we’ll get a new bridge with emergency lanes,” he said.

The former St. Augustine mayor pointed to the traffic tie-ups on the bridge Sunday night following the Fourth of July fireworks display on the bayfront.

“It’s the bridge that is the bottleneck,” he said. “Whatever option is selected, we’re looking at having to live with it for 70 to 75 years. Think of what the traffic’s going to be like in 10 years — or even in five.”