Acosta Bridge

Acosta Bridge
Coordinates	30°19′17″N 81°39′50″W / 30.32139°N 81.66389°W / 30.32139; -81.66389
Carries	6 lanes of SR 13 2 monorail tracks 2 sidewalks
Crosses	St. Johns River
Locale	Jacksonville, Florida
Official name	St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge
Maintained by	Florida Department of Transportation
ID number	720570 southbound 720571 northbound
Characteristics
Design	Continuous prestressed concrete segmental box girder bridge
Total length	1,645 feet (501 m)[1]
Width	151.3 feet (46.1 m)[1]
Longest span	630 feet (190 m)
Clearance below	81 feet (25 m)[1]
History
Construction start	1990[1]
Opened	August 1994; 30 years ago (1994-08)[1]
Location

St. Johns River Bridge
The center span of the old Acosta Bridge in 1987 with the FEC Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge immediately behind and the old Fuller Warren Bridge in the distance.
Coordinates	30°19′17″N 81°39′50″W / 30.3214°N 81.6639°W / 30.3214; -81.6639
Carries	3 lanes of SR 13
Crosses	St. Johns River
Locale	Jacksonville, Florida
Official name	St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge
Other name(s)	The Yellow Monster
Maintained by	Florida Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Steel vertical-lift bridge
Total length	1,645 feet (501 m)
Width	75 feet (23 m)
History
Opened	1921 (1921)
Closed	1991 (1991)
Location

The St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida on a fixed span. It is named for City Councilman St. Elmo W. Acosta, who convinced voters to approve a $950,000 bond issue for the original bridge at the site. It carries a total of six lanes of SR 13 with the two-track Jacksonville Skyway in the median and sidewalks on the outside.

Prior to its replacement in 1991, the bridge, originally called St. Johns River Bridge, opened in 1921 and carried three lanes (center one reversible) on a lift bridge of similar design to the nearby Main Street Bridge but was known as the Yellow Monster, largely for its tendency to stick in the upward position. Tolls were charged until 1940, earning more than $4 million for the City of Jacksonville. At some time in 1991, the original bridge was closed to allow construction of the new one to proceed.

The Acosta Bridge was also notable due to its blue neon lights that illuminated the bridge at night. In February 2015 the Jacksonville Transportation Authority announced that the neon lights would "be off indefinitely with no return date on the books" citing a lack of funding for repairs.^[2] However, in 2019 the JTA began a $2.6 million project to replace the inoperable neon lights with LED lights. Installation is expected to be completed by summer 2020 and unlike the neon lights, the new LEDs will be able to display any color, not just blue.