For the first time in weeks, the Main Street Bridge will fully reopen Monday after closing to all traffic this weekend.
The bridge’s northbound lanes have been closed since September for $2.1 million in repairs after a ship hit the bridge the month before.
This weekend:
- The bridge will close in both directions from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday for electrical repairs.
- The northbound lanes will have intermittent closures throughout the weekend.
- Boaters who need to get through the area will have to contact the tender operator for information about when the center span can be lifted.
At 6 a.m. Monday, the bridge will open for all lanes, the Florida Department of Transportation says.
The Main Street Bridge collision
The ship that hit the 84-year-old bridge — Jacksonville’s oldest — was moving away from the coastal effects of Hurricane Erin about 2:30 a.m. Aug. 19, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
FDOT crews did an immediate safety assessment before reopening the bridge to vehicles four hours later. But the state then needed to do more extensive repairs to the electrical damage the ship caused.
Northbound drivers had to use the Acosta or Hart bridges as crews repaired the Main Street span.
The bridge — officially named the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge — also was shut down for a week earlier in August so FDOT could do laser imaging of the span, plus a mechanical evaluation ahead of replacing part of its mechanical system in early 2028.
The bridge’s trunnion bearings serve as pivot points at the top of the bridge and allow it to be raised and lowered.
