Alva Bridge | |
---|---|
The Alva Bridge open for vessel traffic | |
Coordinates | 26°42′48″N81°36′36″W / 26.7134°N 81.6100°W Coordinates: 26°42′48″N81°36′36″W / 26.7134°N 81.6100°W |
Carries | Broadway |
Crosses | Caloosahatchee River |
Locale | Alva, Florida |
Characteristics | |
Design | Concrete and Steel Bascule Bridge |
Clearance below | 21 feet (6.4 m) (with drawbridge lowered) |
History | |
Opened |
|
Statistics | |
Toll | None |
The bridge unofficially known as the Alva Bridge is a small two-lane drawbridge located in Alva, Florida. The bridge is 21 feet tall and it is one of four vehicle drawbridges in Lee County. The bridge carries Broadway over the Caloosahatchee River.
The first bridge at this site was a small swing bridge constructed in 1903, and it was the closest bridge to Fort Myers up until 1924. In 1925, the original bridge was replaced with a new swing bridge. The old swing bridge was then dismantled and taken to Matlacha, Florida, where it operated as the Matlacha Bridge for a year before being destroyed by a hurricane. The new swing bridge operated until 1966, when it was destroyed by a barge transporting rocket parts to the Kennedy Space Center. The second swing bridge then had to be replaced by the current drawbridge, a bascule-type bridge which opened in 1969, after three years of construction. [1]
Lee County is located in southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2010 census, the population was 618,754. The county seat is Fort Myers, and the largest city is Cape Coral with an estimated 2018 population of 189,343. Lee County comprises the Cape Coral–Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city grew to a population of 154,305 by the year 2010. The city's population estimate was 194,495 for 2019. With an area of 120 square miles (310 km2), Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and Miami. It is a principal city in the Cape Coral – Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population estimate for the statistical area was 679,513 for 2014. The city has over 400 mi (640 km) of navigable waterways.
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.
A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or double-leafed.
The New River Tunnel, officially known as the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel, is a highway tunnel that carries U.S. Route 1 underneath the New River and Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The tunnel replaced the Federal Aid Highway Bridge, a drawbridge opened on August 26, 1926 and closed in 1958. Upon its completion in 1960, it was the only operating public tunnel in Florida, until the completion of the Port of Miami Tunnel in 2014, though two private tunnels exist at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista. Alfred Spear built the New River Tunnel. His business, the Thorington Construction Company of Providence, R.I., was responsible for the construction of the project.
The Broadway Bridge is a segmental bridge that spans the Halifax River and Intracoastal Waterway in downtown Daytona Beach, Florida, carrying U.S. Route 92.
The Sanibel Causeway is a causeway in Southwest Florida that spans the San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in Punta Rassa. The causeway consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans, and two-man-made causeway islands between them. The entire causeway facility is owned by Lee County and operated by the Lee County Department of Transportation. The entire causeway is three miles long from end to end, and currently has a $6 toll in effect for island-bound vehicles only. The bridges are not individually named, and are simply referred to as bridges A, B, and C. The islands are also named A and B. Both series begin from the mainland side.
The Midpoint Memorial Bridge is a bridge located in Southwest Florida. It spans the Caloosahatchee River, connecting Fort Myers and Cape Coral. It is a four-lane fixed span one and one-quarter mile long. The bridge is so-named because its placement situates it roughly halfway between the Cape Coral Bridge to the south, and the Caloosahatchee Bridge to the north. It carries County Road 884, which is known as Colonial Boulevard on the Fort Myers Side, and Veterans Parkway on the Cape Coral Side.
Card Sound Bridge is a high-rise toll causeway connecting southern Miami-Dade County and northern Monroe County. It is one of only two ways that motorists can leave or enter the Florida Keys. The toll for two-axle automobiles is USD $1.50 if paid via SunPass. An additional $2.50 surcharge is assessed for vehicles tolled via license plate photo. The all-electronic tolling system replaced the previous manned toll booth on October 20, 2018. The toll fee is waived upon evacuating the Keys for hurricanes or in instances in which US 1 is impassable.
The Halifax River is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, located in northeast Volusia County, Florida. The waterway was originally known as the North Mosquito River, but was renamed after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, during the British occupation of Florida (1763–1784).
State Road 732 (SR 732) comprises two segments of a state highway in the Jensen Beach, Florida vicinity. The western 2.2-mile-long (3.5 km) segment is a part of Jensen Beach Boulevard between U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and County Road 723 (CR 723) and CR 707A. The eastern 1.9-mile-long (3.1 km) segment consists of Causeway Boulevard and the Jensen Beach Causeway over the Indian River Lagoon and runs between CR 707 and SR A1A.
The Raritan Bay Drawbridge, also known as River-Draw, Raritan Bay Swing Bridge, and Raritan River Railroad Bridge, is a railroad swing bridge crossing the Raritan River a half mile from where in empties into the Raritan Bay in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It connects Perth Amboy to the north and South Amboy to the south.
State Road 31 is a state highway in Southwest Florida in Lee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. It is about 36 miles long. The entire roadway is two lanes wide, even near Fort Myers. The highway crosses the Caloosahatchee River via the Wilson Pigott Bridge, a small drawbridge, a mile north of the southern terminus. The northern terminus is with an intersection of SR 70 near Arcadia. The southern terminus is with an intersection of SR 80 near Fort Myers Shores. The route is home to G. Pierce Wood Memorial Hospital, replacing the old De Soto Aircraft Field.
The Matanzas Pass Bridge is a bridge located in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. It carries State Road 865 between the Florida mainland and Estero Island, which is a major tourist destination. The bridge is one of the island's two connections to the mainland. The other is the Bonita Beach Causeway on the south end of the island.
The Edison Bridge is the name given to a set of two one-way bridges located in Fort Myers, Florida. Named after inventor Thomas Alva Edison, the two bridges carry each direction of U.S. Highway 41 Business over the Caloosahatchee River, connecting downtown Fort Myers with North Fort Myers.
The Wilson Pigott Bridge is a small two-lane drawbridge located near Fort Myers Shores in Lee County, Florida. It is one of four drawbridges in Lee County. It is 27 feet tall.
The Matlacha Pass Bridge is a small single-leaf drawbridge located in Matlacha, Florida. It carries County Road 78 over Matlacha Pass, connecting Pine Island with the mainland in Cape Coral.
The bridge at New Bridge Landing, New Jersey was built in 1888 to replace an earlier wooden one, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1989.
Lake Monroe Bridge was a two-lane steel bridge constructed over the St. Johns River at the west outlet of Lake Monroe between 1933 and 1994. The bridge was a part of U.S. Route 17/92, and spanned the border between Seminole and Volusia Counties in Florida, United States. On the Seminole side is Sanford and on the Volusia side is DeBary. Historical markers claim the bridge was the first electrically operated swing bridge in the State of Florida.
The Astor Bridge is a single-leaf bascule bridge located in Astor, Florida that carries State Road 40 over the St. Johns River into Volusia. The first bridge on the site was built in 1926; the current bridge dates from 1980.