UF Professor: Endangered Bridge Is Part Of St. Augustine’s Soul

August 13, 1997

GAINESVILLE — In North America’s oldest city, St. Augustine’s 70-year-old Bridge of Lions might seem an upstart in its claim to historic status.

Now, its future is questionable as increased traffic loads and a series of barge accidents have led some to call for a new, wider replacement bridge.

That idea doesn’t sit well with those who would like to preserve what’s been called “Dixie’s handsomest span,” including University of Florida law Professor Roy Hunt, who succeeded recently in nominating the picturesque bridge as one of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic places, as defined by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Hunt will begin serving a three-year term as adviser to the National Trust this fall, a position he also held in the 1980s.

Included in the National Register of Historic Places since 1982, the bridge is “the major visual entry to the city,” Hunt said. The bridge directly abuts the original town plan, itself a National Historic Landmark.

The debate over the bridge’s future heightened about a year ago, after the U.S. Coast Guard said it wants wider waterway channels beneath new or replaced bridges. Vehicle traffic also is a problem on the two-lane span, particularly for residents on neighboring Anastasia Island. Flow of traffic is slowed further when the drawbridge must be raised, prompting tourist-starved downtown merchants to push for a new bridge.

A state environmental impact statement is expected to be completed by the fall.

But Hunt isn’t convinced of a need for a new bridge. Proposals currently being considered by the state Department of Transportation (DOT), Hunt said, call for replacing the bridge with another two-lane draw bridge.

“What is being considered by way of replacement would not address the concerns of the residents on Anastasia or the downtown merchants,” said Hunt, who has taught historic preservation law since 1976 and was a member of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board until the Legislature abolished it earlier this year.

Joe Stephenson, DOT regional planning administrator, said planners face a dilemma of making sure the bridge is “safe, operational and reliable” while carrying 25,000 cars per day. He said the bridge’s historic significance will be considered as the department develops a draft environmental impact statement. The bridge’s inclusion on the “endangered” list also will be considered in that assessment, he said. “We will certainly take that into account,” he said.

Hunt noted that while the Bridge of Lions’ 76-foot-wide drawspan does not meet the Coast Guard’s 90-foot width criterion, the same is true of many bridges as well as the waterway itself in some places. He disagrees with those who contend that the bridge’s closely spaced piers are more susceptible to being hit by barges, saying barge accidents more often are the result of pilot error rather than bridge design.

And while many scoff at the 70-year-old bridge’s historic significance in a city with 16th century forts and 19th century inns, Hunt notes that in any community there is a continuity of history and structures that make up the total ambiance of the area.

Hunt compared the view of crossing the Bridge of Lions to what he recently experienced walking across an ancient Roman bridge into Salamanca, Spain. There, he could see the towers of Salamanca in the background.

In St. Augustine, the Bridge of Lions offers views of the towers of the hotels and churches built by Henry Flagler before the turn of the century.

“There are strong similarities,” Hunt said of the bridge in Salamanca, which for years has been closed to vehicular traffic. “The same synergistic effect exists there. Had that Roman bridge been torn down at some time in the past it would have been a tremendous loss to Salamanca.”