The St. Augustine Record
Saturday, June 28, 2003

Bridge of Lions blueprint draws crowd of residents to City Hall
By PETER GUINTA
Senior Writer

About 60 St. Augustine residents crowded into City Hall on Friday to examine the plans for a rebuilt Bridge of Lions for themselves.

Nary a discouraging word was uttered.

Friday's event was a chance to see the drawings, schematics and plans of that $46.7 million project for those who could not come to St. Johns County Auditorium Thursday night.

Fred Halback, public information officer for the Florida Department of Transportation, said Thursday's event indicated that the plans have a lot of local support.

"There are still a few traffic circulation issues on the east side of the bridge," he said. "But that goes along with DOT's role to eliminate traffic conflicts as well as neighborhood cut-throughs, so we can smooth out that area."

Now, westbound local drivers know a dirty trick -- drive down Flagler Boulevard when the bridge is up to cut into line at St. Augustine Boulevard.

When Flagler is made into a cul-de-sac, that maneuver will be impossible.

Halback said the Davis Shores neighborhood has legitimate concerns about the traffic changes.

"We'll continue to work with that neighborhood," he said. "It really is the only affected neighborhood."

However, he said residents of the area are pleased about the gateway park that will be built there.

On the bridge's west side, some residents voiced concern about placement of the two white guardian lions. The DOT's new plans have them in the center of a grassy park.

Halback said the designers moved them for two reasons: safety and preservation.

"People stand out in the driving lane to take a picture while cars are whizzing by," he said. "And they are being degraded by salt spray."

He said the city received a grant from the DOT to have the lions refurbished while they are in storage during construction.

"But the city can put them where they want. They are the city's lions," he said.

Current scheduling has the design completed by October, the bids received by May 2004 and a contract for construction awarded in October 2004.

Construction itself will take three to four years. The temporary bridge will take 9-12 months to construct.

One new thing will be an events platform attached to the seawall north of the bridge.

Dave Sweeney, design engineer for Reynolds, Smith & Hills, an engineering consultant firm, said the original plans for the bridge in 1927 showed the platform in it.

"It was never built," Sweeney said. "It's an option. It could be used for the blessing of the fleet."

It also could be a spot for city residents to look at the water, or for small boats from pleasure craft to tie up.

Jim Bodman, who said he supported a four-lane instead of a two-lane bridge, said these plans are impressive, though he doesn't believe traffic flow will improve after the bridge is restored.

"I liked how the design, park and all the old touches do bring it back to 1927," Bodman said. "Still, I did want two more lanes. Twenty years down the road, what's the traffic going to be like?"

TEXT:About 60 St. Augustine residents crowded into City Hall on Friday to examine the plans for a rebuilt Bridge of Lions for themselves.

Nary a discouraging word was uttered.

Friday's event was a chance to see the drawings, schematics and plans of that $46.7 million project for those who could not come to St. Johns County Auditorium Thursday night.

Fred Halback, public information officer for the Florida Department of Transportation, said Thursday's event indicated that the plans have a lot of local support.

"There are still a few traffic circulation issues on the east side of the bridge," he said. "But that goes along with DOT's role to eliminate traffic conflicts as well as neighborhood cut-throughs, so we can smooth out that area."

Now, westbound local drivers know a dirty trick -- drive down Flagler Boulevard when the bridge is up to cut into line at St. Augustine Boulevard.

When Flagler is made into a cul-de-sac, that maneuver will be impossible.

Halback said the Davis Shores neighborhood has legitimate concerns about the traffic changes.

"We'll continue to work with that neighborhood," he said. "It really is the only affected neighborhood."

However, he said residents of the area are pleased about the gateway park that will be built there.

On the bridge's west side, some residents voiced concern about placement of the two white guardian lions. The DOT's new plans have them in the center of a grassy park.

Halback said the designers moved them for two reasons: safety and preservation.

"People stand out in the driving lane to take a picture while cars are whizzing by," he said. "And they are being degraded by salt spray."

He said the city received a grant from the DOT to have the lions refurbished while they are in storage during construction.

"But the city can put them where they want. They are the city's lions," he said.

Current scheduling has the design completed by October, the bids received by May 2004 and a contract for construction awarded in October 2004.

Construction itself will take three to four years. The temporary bridge will take 9-12 months to construct.

One new thing will be an events platform attached to the seawall north of the bridge.

Dave Sweeney, design engineer for Reynolds, Smith & Hills, an engineering consultant firm, said the original plans for the bridge in 1927 showed the platform in it.

"It was never built," Sweeney said. "It's an option. It could be used for the blessing of the fleet."

It also could be a spot for city residents to look at the water, or for small boats from pleasure craft to tie up.

Jim Bodman, who said he supported a four-lane instead of a two-lane bridge, said these plans are impressive, though he doesn't believe traffic flow will improve after the bridge is restored.

"I liked how the design, park and all the old touches do bring it back to 1927," Bodman said. "Still, I did want two more lanes. Twenty years down the road, what's the traffic going to be like?"