page_title: Acosta Bridge
hierarchical_section_title: Acosta Bridge
context_page_description: The St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida on a fixed span. It is named for City Councilman St. Elmo W. Acosta, who convinced voters to approve a $950,000 bond issue for the original bridge at the site. It carries a total of six lanes of SR 13 with the two-track Jacksonville Skyway in the median and sidewalks on the outside.
  Prior to its replacement in 1991, the bridge, originally called St. Johns River Bridge, opened in 1921 and carried three lanes on a lift bridge of similar design to the nearby Main Street Bridge but was known as the Yellow Monster, largely for its tendency to stick in the upward position. Tolls were charged until 1940, earning more than $4 million for the City of Jacksonville. At some time in 1991, the original bridge was closed to allow construction of the new one to proceed.
  The Acosta Bridge was also notable due to its blue neon lights that illuminated the bridge at night. In February 2015 the Jacksonville Transportation Authority announced that the neon lights would "be off indefinitely with no return date on the books" citing a lack of funding for repairs.
context_section_description: The St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida on a fixed span. It is named for City Councilman St. Elmo W. Acosta, who convinced voters to approve a $950,000 bond issue for the original bridge at the site. It carries a total of six lanes of SR 13 with the two-track Jacksonville Skyway in the median and sidewalks on the outside.
  Prior to its replacement in 1991, the bridge, originally called St. Johns River Bridge, opened in 1921 and carried three lanes (center one reversible) on a lift bridge of similar design to the nearby Main Street Bridge but was known as the Yellow Monster, largely for its tendency to stick in the upward position. Tolls were charged until 1940, earning more than $4 million for the City of Jacksonville. At some time in 1991, the original bridge was closed to allow construction of the new one to proceed.
  The Acosta Bridge was also notable due to its blue neon lights that illuminated the bridge at night. In February 2015 the Jacksonville Transportation Authority announced that the neon lights would "be off indefinitely with no return date on the books" citing a lack of funding for repairs. However, in 2019 the JTA began a $2.6 million project to replace the inoperable neon lights with LED lights. Installation is expected to be completed by summer 2020 and unlike the neon lights, the new LEDs will be able to display any color, not just blue.
caption: A 1992 map of the Acosta Bridge (the middle one), before its replacement.
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