JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There is mixed reaction following the news of the Main Street Bridge on-ramp next to the old Jacksonville Landing site set to be demolished last year.
Motorists, skateboarders and bicyclists all take advantage of the Main Street Bridge walkway.
“We love it,” Jacksonville resident Don Moore said.
He and his wife take advantage of the bridge’s walkways to walk across the St. Johns River.
“It’s just fun, I mean it’s a lot of fun because there’s not a lot of traffic on the walkway a lot of times like but we can see some wildlife down on the river,” Moore said.
The Northbank ramp from Independent Drive to the Main Street Bridge will be torn down in February 2021, FDOT says.
They say this $1.3 million project has been discussed since 2014.
Officials with the Downtown Investment Authority tell our news partners the Florida Times-Union the ramp “has long been perceived as a site impediment with little traffic value.”
The ramp has value to some people like Jennifer Walters who exercise on the ramp daily.
“Usually it’s really crowded, there’s a lot of people back and forth,” Walters said.
FDOT says the project could last from February to September.
Moore hopes doesn’t block his strides through Downtown.
“I mean if it's going to be an improvement, that’s great, and we’re willing to if there’s an alternate route for us to get across it won’t be a problem,” Moore said.
A city spokesperson confirms that a pedestrian ramp will be installed after the ramp is torn down.
Plans for that project are unknown at this time.