A sign shows the official name of the Main Street Bridge. | Google maps
Published on April 10, 2026 at 1:09 pm
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Q: Jacksonville is a city of bridges. And many of the bridges spanning the St. Johns and Ortega rivers have plaques clearly showing their names. But many do not.
Jacksonville Today reader Brenda P. wonders why
“There is highway signage for a few, but none seem to have a sign or plaque on it,” Brenda says. “Residents, and especially tourists, are often clueless about the name of the bridge they’re crossing.”
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“Why do several bridges not have plaques with their names?”
A: Brenda is right. A drive across bridges over the St. Johns Rivers often shows nothing obvious declaring the bridge’s name.
Under Florida law, only the Florida Legislature may designate or name a bridge, for honorary or memorial purposes, says Tracy Hisler-Pace, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation.
In some cases, the Legislature may require an honorary plaque or marker be incorporated into the bridge’s design. But since there are so many bridges across the state, installing plaques at every location is not always feasible, Hisler-Pace says.
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“In Jacksonville, for instance, all seven bridges crossing the St. Johns River have a plaque fixed to the structure,” but they are not always visible to motorists, Hisler-Pace says.
Vegetation and garbage have obscured oxidized metal plaques on both sides of the Fuller Warren Bridge, which was named after a former Florida governor. But on the Main Street bridge, officially named the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge after a former mayor, the name is visible on the bridge’s girders heading in either direction.
(Many people refer to bridges by colloquial names, the common usage, rather than the one designated by state lawmakers to honor some past dignitary.)
On the Buckman Bridge, officially named the Henry Holland Buckman Bridge in honor of a late state senator, green and white signs designate it on the Mandarin and Westside/Clay County sides. But they are small signs in the median.
FDOT usually uses a consistent sign format in accordance with state guidelines when a permanent bridge sign is required, Hisler-Pace says. Guidelines call for a brown sign with yellow lettering that displays the honorary bridge name and the year the Legislature approved the designation.
The Dames Point bridge does have a small brown sign with the name at the northbound edge of the span, near one warning of narrow shoulders, but none visible from the other side.
