Osteen Bridge
{{short description|Bridge in Florida, United States of America}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|name= Osteen Bridge
|image=
|caption=
|official_name=Douglas Stenstrom Bridge
|id=790124
790219
|locale=Indian Mound Village, Florida
|maint=Florida Department of Transportation
|carries={{jct|state=FL|SR|415}}
(4 general purpose lanes)
|crosses=St. Johns River
|design=Steel-reinforced concrete
|mainspan=
|length={{convert|2426|ft}}
|below={{convert|24|ft}}
|open=April 1977
|coordinates = {{coord|28.8026|-81.2102|display=inline,title}}
}}
The Douglas Stenstrom Bridge, also known as the Osteen Bridge, is a steel-and-concrete bridge located in Indian Mound Village, Florida, east of Sanford, that carries State Road 415 over the St. Johns River. The current bridge was completed in 1977, replacing a 1920s vintage bridge that was considered the most dangerous in the state; a second parallel span was completed in 2015.
History
The original Osteen Bridge, a hand-turned swing bridge,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19760914&id=PJkpAAAAIBAJ&pg=2331,5255487|title=Osteen Bridge Work On Time|last=Weber|first=Dave|date=September 14, 1976|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=2B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}} was built in the 1920s;{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=57MtAAAAIBAJ&pg=6705,1178211&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=Osteen Bridge Dedicated|date=August 18, 1978|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=1B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}} it was rebuilt in 1947. The bridge is located just upstream from Lake Monroe,Belleville 2000, p.56. crossing the Indian Mound Slu portion of the river between Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup; by the 1970s the original bridge, only {{convert|14|ft}} in width, proved dangerous and too narrow for continued use, being described as "the worst bridge in Florida" in 1972.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2E8fAAAAIBAJ&pg=5363,8036528&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=New Osteen Bridge Hearing Tonight|date=February 28, 1972|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=3|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}} In 1973, mats of invasive water hyacinth caused damage to the bridge's structure.{{cite web|url=http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/Operations/Branches/InvSpecies/Operations_Timeline.htm|title=Timeline of the Major Events in the Aquatic Plant Control Program|date=July 31, 2012|publisher=U.S. Army Corps of Engineers|access-date=2012-09-07}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
An accident in 1974 that killed five people when their van was run off the bridge by a truck gave the final impetus to the construction of a new bridge, replacing the dangerous older span.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tocpAAAAIBAJ&pg=2265,3652183&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=Osteen Bridge Moving Along|last=Weber|first=Dave|date=October 10, 1975|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=1B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}} The new Osteen Bridge was constructed starting in 1975, with work continuing through 1976 and early 1977; constructed by the Houdaille-Duval-Wright company of Jacksonville,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=10UfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2328,2583582&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=Work To Start On New Osteen Bridge|date=July 9, 1975|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=2B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}} the project cost approximately $2.6 million USD. The new bridge opened in April 1977, and was officially named the Douglas Stenstrom Bridge in 1978, after a Florida state senator Douglas Stenstrom who had pushed for the completion of the project. Part of the previous bridge was left in place, serving as a fishing pier.McCarthy 2008, p.15.
Repairs to the bridge were undertaken during 2011.{{cite web|url=http://mysanfordherald.com/bookmark/13181478-DOT-to-repair-Osteen-Bridge|title=DOT to repair Osteen Bridge|date=May 9, 2011|work=The Sanford Herald|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Sanford, FL|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045919/http://mysanfordherald.com/bookmark/13181478-DOT-to-repair-Osteen-Bridge|archive-date=March 4, 2016}} A second parallel bridge was completed in 2015 to support the widening of SR 415 to 2 lanes in each direction.{{Cite web|publisher=Daytona Beach News-Journal |url= http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20131112/sr-415-widening-project-makes-progress |title= S.R. 415 widening project makes progress |last= Harper |first= Mark |date= November 12, 2013}}
References
;Citations
{{reflist|2}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|last=Belleville|first=Bill|title=River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River|year=2000|publisher=University of Georgia Press|location=Athens, GA|isbn=0-8203-2344-6}}
- {{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Kevin M.|title=St. Johns River Guidebook|edition=2nd|year=2008|publisher=Pineapple Press|location=Sarasota, FL|isbn=978-1-56164-435-3}}
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commons category|Douglas Stenstrom Bridge}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNIg76QSfVc Crossing the bridge]
- [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1870&dat=19741212&id=4NYpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h9EEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3861,5639430&hl=en]
{{Crossings navbox
|structure = Crossings
|place = St. Johns River
|bridge = Osteen Bridge
|bridge signs = 25px
|upstream = Mims Bridge
|upstream signs = 25px
|downstream = Veterans Memorial Bridge
|downstream signs = 20px
}}
{{Bridges of Florida}}
Category:Bridges over the St. Johns River
Category:Bridges completed in 1977
Category:Road bridges in Florida
Category:Bridges in Volusia County, Florida
Category:Bridges in Seminole County, Florida