Florida Friday; Ortega River Draw Bridge Florida State Road 211/Old US Route 17

Back in 2013 I was traveling through Jacksonville and took a side trip onto Florida State Road 211 to see the Ortega River Drawbridge.

FL 211 is a short approximately 4 mile state road from I-10 to US 17 running the west bank of the St. Johns River of Jacksonville and skirting over the Ortega River on the namesake bridge. FL 211 was a former alignment of US 17 which was extended to Punta Gorda in 1932. The alignment of FL 211 was US 17 until it moved to Roosevelt Boulevard sometime in 1950 or 1951. For a time the route of FL 211 was still signed as US 17A, possibly to 1957.

As for the Ortega River Drawbridge, it dates back to 1927. The Ortega River Drawbridge has a classic Arc Deco look to the design and is apparently 1,143 feet in length.

More detail about the Ortega River Drawbridge including an early sketch can be found on Bridgehunter.com.

Bridgehunter on the Ortega River Drawbridge

From the central span of the Ortega River Drawbridge downtown Jacksonville can be seen.

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