The Bridges of Jacksonville

I was having a hard time deciding whether to write about shoes or bridges; bridges won, but I want to say one thing about shoes: If you live where it's warm and work mostly from home, you aren't doing yourself any favors by not wearing real shoes (by which I mean any shoes that aren't slides or flip-flops). Yesterday I bought a pair of dress shoes to wear to my interview today, the first pair of heels I had bought in more than five years. Cream-colored patent leather Bandolino peep-toes! They're very cute, but also very uncomfortable. I was standing for about an hour and a half at the interview. I don't know if I got the job, but I do know that I have to put in some practice time wearing shoes. But onward to the bridges.

English: Acosta Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We have seven bridges; two of them, I use on a frequent basis -- the Mathews into town and the Hart out of town. The Dames Point (also known as the Napolean Bonaparte Broward Bridge or, as my family calls it, "the pointy bridge") is on the way to the airport, zoo, and my oldest son's favorite beach, Huguenot Park. The other ones I haven't been on much, but I might know what they are -- Main Street, Acosta, Fuller-Warren, and the Florida East Coast Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge. I had to look up the last one; I've never heard of, but it's the oldest bridge in Jacksonville, dating back to 1890. What's cool about the bridges is that when you're on one, you can see at least one (and often more) of the others, and some of them have lights. The Acosta Bridge, pictured above, and the Main Street Bridge, below, are especially lovely at night. What's not cool about them is that at least one is always under construction. On my way downtown today, I was telling my son why the Mathews was closed so much over the past few years.

The Mathews Bridge used to have metal grating instead of pavement. This made it very slick during storms, and there were frequent accidents. A few years ago, a woman driving a Jeep in wet weather went right over the side. Can you imagine how terrifying that must have been? Not long after that accident, construction began to get rid of the grates and do other long-needed repairs. I think the construction went on for about four years altogether. Now that the Mathews is done, the Hart is under construction. When I first started going downtown, the Hart Bridge was the only way I knew to get home. Now that I've learned my way around a little more (although I have not mastered downtown driving or navigating), so I can come home on the Mathews Bridge as well as go into town that way. Living close to the ocean, intracoastal, and rivers means we have lots of other bridges too, but I'll talk about those another day.