The 84-year-old John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge, commonly known as the Main Street Bridge, is the largest vertical lift steel bridge in Florida. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today
Published on December 1, 2025 at 3:43 pm
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A group of City Council members are making a push for the Main Street Bridge in Downtown Jacksonville to be added to the National Register of Historic Places in advance of a $100 million-plus upgrade by the state in 2028.
The group of seven local lawmakers, led by council member Matt Carlucci, introduced Resolution 2025-0881 last week. It would encourage city officials to work with the State Historic Preservation Office and Florida Department of Transportation to nominate the 84-year-old structure — officially named the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge — for the national register.
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If the bill passes early next year, the city’s Planning Department, Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission and Department of Public would coordinate the nomination with the state.
Carlucci tells Jacksonville Today that FDOT plans a $124 million project to fortify the bridge. According to the bill, the work on the steel vertical lift bridge will cost about $100 million and include structural integrity work as well as a comprehensive repainting project.
The multimillion-dollar rehab comes after FDOT spent $2.1 million on the bridge and closed its northbound lane for several weeks this year for repairs after a tugboat hit the structure.
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The bill says the state’s investment in the bridge, built in 1941, shows its value as a “critical transportation asset and engineering landmark.”
According to the bill, the Main Street Bridge is the largest vertical lift bridge in Florida, providing a commuter and economic link between Downtown’s Northbank and Southbank. The legislation also points to the bridge’s prominence in the city skyline, city branding materials, and its use in the official logo of Super Bowl XXXIX held in Jacksonville as reason to landmark it.
Carlucci says the bridge is used as a symbol to “pulling our city together” and has played a “major roll” in the city’s growth.
“Putting the Main Street Bridge on the National Register of Historic Places isn’t just about a designation on paper,” Carlucci wrote in an email Monday. “It’s about recognizing its historic and architectural significance, strengthening our ability to preserve it, and sending a clear message that Jacksonville values its landmarks.
“It builds civic pride, supports our heritage, and tells residents and visitors alike that we honor the structures that have carried this city through decades of progress and change. Designating National Historic Landmark status upon the Main Street Bridge bestows upon it the distinction it deserves.”
Main Street bridge in rare company
A 2012 FDOT report on the state’s historic highway bridges says the iconic Downtown Jacksonville structure, built by Mount Vernon Bridge Co., is one of two vertical lift bridges still operable in the state. The second is the Hillsborough River Lift Bridge, built in 1939 in Hillsborough County and reconstructed in 1999.
The report says only four vertical lift bridges remain, two of them inoperable, but all are “considered highly significant” and eligible for listing on the national historic register.
Council members Jimmy Peluso, Ken Amaro, Raual Arias, Ju’Coby Pittman, Will Lahnen, Reggie Gaffney Jr. co-introduced the bill with Carlucci. It’s also been endorsed by council members Joe Carlucci and Ron Salem.
The bill could see a final vote at the council’s meeting Jan. 13.
