FEC Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge, Railway bridge in Jacksonville, Florida.
The FEC Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge is a railway bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville with two tracks and a lifting steel deck. It uses truss beams and a specialized raising system that allows ships to pass underneath.
The bridge was built in 1925 to replace an older single-track swing bridge that had been operating since 1890. The new structure reflected advances in engineering designed to handle growing railroad and ship traffic.
The bridge carries the Florida East Coast Railway over the St. Johns River on two tracks, and its name records both the company and the Strauss trunnion bascule type. It stands beside the Acosta Bridge, so the two crossings can be compared from the riverbanks. Paul Mallery documents the structure in the Bridge and Trestle Handbook (2000).
The bridge sits next to the Acosta Bridge and can be viewed from several vantage points along the riverbank. Plan your visit during the day when train movements and occasional lifting operations are easier to see.
The bridge uses a special trunnion bascule system where the deck pivots around a hinge point to lift. This design allows faster raising and lowering movements compared to older construction methods.
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