Gribblenation

The nearly 100-year-old truss bridge that carries US 17 over the St. Marys River connecting Georgia and Florida is most commonly known for its vibrant blue paint.  However, this through-truss bridge is also a swing bridge with a unique twist. The St. Marys River Bridge. (Joe Babyak - August 2011) The swing portion of the bridge - a standard design for many low-level bridges of the time - allows passing boats to continue their journey on the St. Marys River unobstructed.  However, unlike most swing bridges - opening the bridge is done manually and not electronically. From the Georgia Side - the St Marys River Bridge on the left and a railroad bridge on the right. (Adam Prince - August 2011) The opening of the central span typically takes six to eight workers.  They manually turn a 15-foot-long turnkey.  Turning the span to allow vessels through can take up to 30 minutes.  The Florida Department of Transportation operates the bridge - and shuts down the bridge twi...

Along the boundary of the Osceola-Polk County in Central Florida exists a portion of brick roadway known as the "Old Tampa Highway."  The Old Tampa Highway was once part the Western Route of the Dixie Highway and early US 17/92. The Old Tampa Highway actually is somewhat lengthy segment of highway that still exists from the outskirts of Kissimmee in Osceola County west to Davenport in Polk County.  Most of Old Tampa Highway is paved and largely is lined with modern residential structures.  Near Reedy Creek the route of Old Tampa Highway is bisected by a closed bridge west towards County Route 532/Osceola-Polk Line Road.  This has led to an odd circumstance where a small part of Old Tampa Highway on the Osceola County side is still maintained as a local through route with a brick surface. Pulling off of Osceola-Polk Line Road onto Old Tampa Highway the asphalt surface quickly gives way to brick.  Old Tampa Highway is signed with a 30 MPH limit and ...

From 2014 through to early 2016 one of my running routes took through downtown Orlando via Lake Eola Park. Lake Eola is a 23 acre lake in downtown Orlando bounded by Robinson Street (Florida State Road 526) to the north, Eola Drive to the east, Central Avenue to the south, and Rosalind Avenue (Northbound FL 527) to the west.  The photo above was taken on a morning run sometime in the fall of 2014 looking west towards downtown.  The land that Lake Eola Park sits one was donated in 1883 but didn't become a Orlando City Park until 1892.  Lake Eola Park is generally considered to be the heart of downtown Orlando and is the site of many of the local events.  Just west of Lake Eola US 17/92 once ran on Orange Avenue through downtown Orlando on what is now southbound FL 527.

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 Dra...

Alongside US 17 in Southwest Jacksonville is the ruins of a ghost town called Yukon. Yukon was a small town of about 300 that was located in Duval County before the consolidation with the City of Jacksonville.  Yukon was founded some time in the mid-19th century and was pretty much just another nameless Florida community.  Yukon had rail service and the northern extent of town was selected for Army post Camp Johnston in 1917 during World War I. The streets of Camp Johnston were laid with brick despite it only being open until 1919.  The Florida National Guard began to use Camp Johnston in 1928.  The Navy became interested in a base near the St. Johns River and created Naval Air Station Jacksonville in 1940.  The vast majority of the military installation was moved to the east side of US 17 where it remains to this day. Yukon in a way was fortunate that it was close to NAS JAX but it ultimately proved to be the down fall of the town.  In 1963 the to...

For decades, two massive steel cantilever bridges connecting Charleston and Mount Pleasant, SC rose over the Cooper River, Drum Island, and Town Creek.  The Grace Memorial, opened in 1929, and the Pearman Memorial, opened in 1966, were part of the fabric of Charleston until the last day they carried traffic on July 16, 2005.  Since that day, the new Ravenel Bridge - a massive cable stayed span - carries the tradition of the two that came before it.    The Grace Memorial Bridge was the first to span the Cooper River.  Built at a cost of $6 million, construction began on the 2.71 mile bridge in March 1928.  Seventeen months later, the bridge opened - in grand celebration - to traffic on August 8, 1929. (1)  The force behind the construction of the then named Cooper River Bridge was John P. Grace, a former Charleston mayor who led the Cooper River Bridge Company.  Because of his efforts, years later the Cooper River Bridge would be renamed in hi...