FDOT workers make repairs to the Main Street BridgeFDOT workers make repairs to the Main Street Bridge
Florida Department of Transportation workers make repairs to the Main Street Bridge.| FDOT

Main Street Bridge reopens all lanes for first time in weeks

Published on October 3, 2025 at 11:46 am
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For the first time in weeks, the Main Street Bridge was to fully reopen Monday after closing to all traffic last 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.

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Last weekend:

  • The bridge closed in both directions from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday for electrical repairs.
  • The northbound lanes had intermittent closures throughout the weekend.
  • Boaters who needed to get through the area had to contact the tender operator for information about when the center span can be lifted.

At 6 a.m. Monday, the bridge was to open for all lanes, the Florida Department of Transportation said.

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.


author image Reporter email Dan Scanlan is a veteran journalist with 40 years as a radio, television and print reporter in the Jacksonville area, as well as years of broadcast work in the Northeast. After a stint managing a hotel comedy club, Dan began a 34-year career as police and current events reporter at The Florida Times-Union before joining the staff of WJCT News 89.9.