Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida

The Main Street Bridge is a 1941 steel vertical lift bridge that carries U.S. 1 across the St. Johns River in Downtown Jacksonville.

The Florida Department of Transportation's Historic Highway Bridges of Florida inventory lists it as FDOT bridge No. 720022, Florida Master Site File number 8DU1553, under the names Main Street Bridge and J.T. Alsop Bridge, carrying US-1 over the St. Johns River. The report calls it one of the premier historic bridges in Florida and says it is significant both for its technology and as a defining element in the Jacksonville skyline.

The City of Jacksonville describes the bridge as connecting Downtown's Northbank and Southbank over the St. Johns River in a August 7, 2026 notice, which also refers to the bridge's southbound pedestrian walkway. In federal drawbridge rules the crossing is the Main Street (1/SR 90) drawbridge at mile 24.7 of the river, per 33 CFR 117.325.

Duval County voters approved the bridge in 1935, the federal government agreed in 1938 to pay half the cost, and it was completed in 1941 by the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company of Ohio.

The FDOT historic bridge report states that construction cost approximately $1.5 million and required 3,800 tons of steel, 460 tons of metal reinforcements and 30,000 tons of concrete. In 1938 the U.S. Bureau of Roads agreed to pay one-half of the project's costs. In 1941 the Shell Products Company of Ohio, the Foundation Company of New York City and the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company of Ohio contributed money to complete construction.

The same report explains why the Jacksonville bridge is considered historic. FDOT determined it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in its 2000 survey, under Criterion A in the area of Community Planning and Development for its role in facilitating the development of Jacksonville, and under Criterion C in the area of Engineering as a rare extant vertical lift bridge associated with the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company. Its summary table records the status as EL: 2000, meaning eligible, not listed.

Main Street is not the only Jacksonville river crossing in that FDOT inventory. The same Duval County list includes the Mathews Bridge over the St. Johns River, built in 1953 and rated potentially eligible in 2007, and the Hart Bridge, built in 1967 and recommended eligible in 2010, per the FDOT report.

The bridge's formal name is the John Alsop Jr. Bridge, but Jacksonville's city, state and federal documents still use the Main Street name.

The City Council's own record uses both names at once: Resolution 2025-0881, on the January 13, 2026 Council agenda, is titled as support for the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge, commonly known as the Main Street Bridge. FDOT's historic bridge inventory lists it as Main Street Bridge/J.T. Alsop Bridge, and the federal drawbridge rule in 33 CFR 117.325 uses only the Main Street name. City closure notices from August 2026 also call it the Main Street Bridge.

Official documents use both names. FDOT's inventory pairs Main Street Bridge with J.T. Alsop Bridge, and the Jacksonville City Council's Resolution 2025-0881 refers to the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge, commonly known as the Main Street Bridge, on the January 13, 2026 Council agenda.

FDOT records the Main Street Bridge as 1,680 feet long in 14 spans, with a 365-foot central lift span and steel lift towers that rise to 200 feet.

The FDOT report breaks the 14 spans into 11 steel girder spans and 3 Warren through truss spans. The lift mechanism runs on a span drive system on the movable span, and the towers house the concrete counterweights. It is the largest of the four remaining vertical lift bridges in Florida and remains operable.

Only two of the four still operate, according to the same FDOT report: the Main Street Bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville and the Hillsborough River Lift Bridge, which was built in 1939 and reconstructed in 1999. That makes the Jacksonville span not only the longest lift in the state but one of only two working highway lift bridges left in Florida's historic inventory.

The Main Street drawspan over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville must open on signal for vessels, except during morning and evening rush periods on most days.

Under 33 CFR 117.325, the Coast Guard's drawbridge rule for the St. Johns River, the Main Street drawbridge at mile 24.7 must open on signal, except that from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday except federal holidays, the drawspan need not be opened for the passage of vessels. On Sundays and federal holidays the on-signal rule applies all day.

The same St. Johns River rule covers the Florida East Coast automated railroad bridge at mile 24.9, which is normally left fully open with flashing green lights and lowers only when a train approaches. For drivers and walkers, the practical tip is that a raised Main Street span is least likely during the weekday rush windows, when the federal rule lets the bridge stay down.

Southbound lanes and the southbound walkway are reduced or closed through January 30, 2027, for Riverfront Plaza work, and City Council has asked for a National Register nomination.

The City of Jacksonville's August 7, 2026 notice says that beginning August 24, 2026, southbound lanes toward Riverplace Boulevard are reduced to one lane and the southbound pedestrian walkway is closed for the Riverfront Plaza Main Street Bridge Nub Removal Project, led by the Department of Public Works with contractor The Haskell Company. Northbound traffic stays open with two lanes, and completion is anticipated by January 30, 2027. The city calls the work the first step toward a permanent pedestrian connection from the bridge to the new Riverfront Plaza, part of the plaza's second phase. FDOT District 2's North Florida road and lane closure report lists the same continuous southbound lane and walkway closures on Bridge No. 720022 through Jan. 30, 2027.

A follow-up city notice of August 25, 2026 explains that crews are removing the remnants of the old ramp from the Landing area to build a walkway connecting Riverfront Plaza to the bridge. When both southbound lanes closed overnight on August 27 to install a barrier wall, traffic was detoured west on Bay Street, south on Jefferson Street and over the Acosta Bridge, the route drivers bound for San Marco can use whenever Main Street is backed up.

The National Register request is newer than FDOT's eligibility finding. The Council record for January 13, 2026 shows Resolution 2025-0881 approved 18-0, expressing strong support for nominating the bridge for listing and encouraging the Planning Department, the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission and the Department of Public Works to collaborate on a nomination submittal. The Rules Committee approved it 7-0 on January 5, 2026.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against FDOT's Historic Highway Bridges of Florida report and District 2 closure report, 33 CFR 117.325, the City of Jacksonville's two August 2026 closure notices, and the Council's January 13, 2026 meeting record.