I love this bridge. It's so beautiful. It's so high. On a clear day you can see for miles and miles, and even get a really great view of downtown Jax. After all, at it's peak, it's 175 feet tall.
I know I've been over this bridge thousands of times since I moved to Jax nearly 20 years ago. I lived on the Northside and had to drive over the bridge twice a day to and from work for many years.
Traffic generally flows pretty smoothly (and quickly) over the bridge. The only time it gets backed up is if there has been an accident. The bridge is so steep, that if you happen to be driving a stick and traffic does get backed up, your left knee will be killing you by the time you get over the bridge. Unfortunately, that has happened to me on several occasions.
As much as love love the look of the bridge, the view from the bridge, and the smooth ride over the bridge, if it's raining heavily, it can be a scary drive over the bridge because it's so high... especially if the wind is whipping hard while it's raining. Basically, if it's raining, slow down and be careful.
A few years ago (or maybe more than that.... my memory is crap), a woman was parked on the side of the bridge and standing in front of her car. I can't recall if she'd had a flat or if there had been a minor accident or what exactly had caused her to pull over and get out of her vehicle... but along came another car and tapped her back bumper and since she was standing in front of her car, her car bumped her over the bridge into the water below. Luckily, she was on the long, lower part of the bridge (although that part is still high too) and when she hit the water, she was able to swim to one of the bridge pillars and hang on until rescue got there. If she'd have been on the high part of the bridge, it's likely she would have been killed upon impact with the water. Why I'm bringing this up, I'm not entirely sure.... I think maybe just to say: Hey people, slow down and pay attention to what you are doing and what those around you are doing. This is most definitely a bridge you do not want to have an accident on. read more