Bridge of Lions
Bridge of Lions | |
|---|---|
View of the bridge from Castillo de San Marcos in 2024. | |
| Coordinates | 29°53′35″N 81°18′29″W / 29.893°N 81.308°W |
| Carries | 2 general purpose lanes of SR A1A and 2 sidewalks |
| Crosses | Matanzas River (Intracoastal Waterway) |
| Locale | St. Augustine, Florida |
| Official name | Bridge of Lions |
| Maintained by | Florida Department of Transportation |
| ID number | 780074 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | steel bascule bridge |
| Total length | 1,545 feet (471 m) |
| Width | 34 feet (10 m) |
| Longest span | 87 feet (27 m) |
| Clearance above | N/A |
| Clearance below | 25 feet (7.6 m) closed |
| History | |
| Opened | February 26, 1927 (original bridge) March 17, 2010 (current bridge) |
Bridge of Lions | |
| Location | St. Augustine, Florida United States |
| Coordinates | 29°53′33″N 81°18′27″W / 29.89250°N 81.30750°W |
| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | J. E. Greiner Company |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001040 |
| Added to NRHP | 19 November 1982 |
The Bridge of Lions is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island across Matanzas Bay. A pair of copies of the marble Medici lions guard the bridge, begun in 1925 and completed in 1927. They were removed in February 2005 and returned in March 2011.
Roads & Bridges magazine named the Bridge of Lions as fourth in the nation's top 10 bridges for 2010. Projects were evaluated based on size, community impact and challenges resolved.
The United States Department of Transportation declared the bridge "structurally deficient and functionally obsolete" in 1999, prompting heated debates on what to do with the structure. A restoration plan was approved, but opponents continued to voice their opposition. Reynolds, Smith & Hills from nearby Jacksonville was awarded the engineering and design contract, estimated at $77 million, and projected to require five years to complete.