JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – That construction mess on Interstate 95 just south of the Fuller Warren Bridge that thousands of Jacksonville drivers get a close-up look at every day drew the attention Tuesday of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.
He and others inspected the Overland Bridge, an elevated section of I-95 through St. Nicholas and San Marco that was once on the list of one of America's most substandard bridges. Replacement of the span started in 2013 and won't be completed until 2016.
"We don't have to accept concrete crumbling from the tops of bridges on to the underpass below," said Foxx "Going through an underpass shouldn't be an act of courage."
Foxx, who is on a five-state bus tour talking to community leaders about improving the nation's infrastructure, met with Mayor Alvin Brown and others underneath the structure.
Foxx said transportation is really important to the future and to our economy and is promoting passage of President Barack Obama's $478 billion transportation bill. Foxx said the current congestion we see is going to get worse over the next 30 years if projects keep getting delayed.
"We don't have to accept years of waiting on these projects that we need," Foxx said.
Brown said he's looking forward to more money being spent on transportation.
"It will improve access to the Acosta and Main Street bridges," Brown said. "It will relieve construction on the critical Fuller Warren Bridge by adding an additional southbound lane."
From Jacksonville, Foxx's bus tour heads to Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia.