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11 Most Endangered
Bridge of Lions
Year Listed: 1997
Location: St. Augustine , Florida
Current Status: Saved
Threat: Road Construction
Latest News
March 18, 2010: 13 years after the deteriorating beloved structure was threatened with demolition, the 1927 Bridge of Lions reopens with great celebration. Read more.
Significance
Facing calls for its replacement with a new, larger bridge, St. Augustine's Bridge of Lions is in danger of being destroyed. The 1927 bridge has been carrying traffic over the Matanzas River for almost 75 years and is a fittingly picturesque entry into one of America's oldest cities. Featuring marble lions guarding the western portal, tile-roofed towers flanking the draw and 23 pairs of graceful arches, the Bridge of Lions has become an integral component of St.Augustine's historic landscape and skyline as well as a symbol of civic pride. Citing ever-increasing maritime and car traffic, the likes of which could never have been imagined in the 1920's, there have been calls for a wider, "safer" bridge to replace the current historic one.
Updates
The condition of the existing bridge warranted an extensive bridge rehabilitation. The rehabilitation efforts blended with the ornate architecture of the existing bridge while maintaining current bridge design requirements. Superstructure elements including the bridge deck, interior steel framing elements, and bridge railing were replaced. Rehabilitation efforts focused on repairing the existing arched steel plate girders rather than replacment. Introduction of interior steel stringers, parallel to the arched steel plate girders, will lessen the design loadings carried by the rehabilitated arched steel plate girders. Substructure elements including the reinforced concrete piers, abutments and associated foundations were removed in their entirety due to advanced deterioration and overall poor quality of concrete.
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