Mathews Bridge

The Mathews Bridge is an awesome bridge… The bridge has been renovated… They took the grating off of the bridge which was a huge improvement… It’s a much better ride now than it was before…
This was a definite improvement… It’s a beautiful bridge in a beautiful city.

It’s a big bridge. Used to hate this bridge. But once they put concrete over that grating it made it less dangerous. It is a good way to get from Arlington to downtown quickly but morning traffic can be pretty bad.

It’s a slick, narrow, high-​arching bridge that seems to require repairs often. In the rain, it’s slick and dangerous. But it gets you to Arlington when it’s working.

When the Mathews bridge first opened it was called a «bridge to nowhere» but that was back in 1953 when most of Florida was filled with dirt roads and woods, ferries littered many rivers and were still considered an innovated form of transportation, bridges of this magnitude were expensive and very difficult to justify especially in areas that had marginal volumes of traffic.
But after more than 60 years this structure still stands tall and its importance has increase as have the traffic volumes soaring from a little over 4,000 vehicles on its opening day to more than 80,000 a day during peak times. With the upgrades to the decking from metal grates over the center span to concrete its apparent this bridge will continue to serve the community for many more years.
This magnificent structure has witnessed a few changes since its construction I thought I’d list a few a snap shot of 1953
Bread: $ 0.16/loaf
Milk: $ 0.94/gal
Eggs: $ 0.75/doz
Car: $ 1,850
Gas: $ 0.29/gal
House: $ 17,400
Stamp: $ 0.03/ea
Avg Income: $ 4,706/yr
Min Wage: $ 0.75/hr
DOW Avg: 28I

This is one of the coolest bridges in the area. There are some pretty sweet looking houses that line the river and you can see while crossing this bridge. It is a pretty nerve-​racking bridge to cross since it’s so high, but the views of the river are pretty amazing. I’ve been going over this bridge since the early 90’s and I still get a cheap thrill when I’m on it. :)

Still scares me especially when it’s raining.

Damn bridge, you scary. If you were a Halloween thrill ride, you would get 5 stars!
So, I may (ok, absolutely) have a weird fear of driving over bridges! (Drawbridges are the worst, with that funky wavy grating) I am relieved the Matthews Bridge doesn’t have the metal grating anymore, but it’s still scary.
Small and narrow lanes, and it feels like just inches from the edge of the bridge.
I try to get over this bridge as fast as I can, and always feel happy when I reach the other side.
The other day, my low air pressure light came on, and I about had a panic attack driving over, as I had no time to stop first. Thankfully, I made it over, but if you get a flat or into an accident here, you’re pretty much screwed.
Yesterday, I saw a police car PUSHING a car on the bridge!
Scary!

Without this bridge getting across the river would be much harder for me.

«John Otto, Take ‘em to the Mathews Bridge» — Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit from the song My Generation. For those of you who do not know, the boys of Limp Bizkit are natives of our great city, Jacksonville! Fred and the Boys lived in Arlington, so I’m going to go out on a limb here and say they problem had to pass over this particular bridge all the time. I know that Julia A. already mentioned this lyric in her review, but I just HAD to do it too because every single time I go over that bridge (at least since I first heard the song in 2000) I can hear Fred Durst saying that in my head… never fails… every.single.time. LOL
The Mathews Bridge is used by thousands every day to get from Arlington to Downtown and vice versa.
I have a love/​hate relationship with this bridge. I love it because I think it’s a really beautiful bridge. I hate it because it scares me. Now, it doesn’t scare me so much nowadays as it did before the grating was replaced. Prior to 2007, at the very top was grating you had to cross. Very, very scary. Now, I’m not sure what genius of an engineer came up with this grating idea, but it was dumb as hell!
The bridge is high, so it gets windy when you hit the top which can make your car shake. When the grating was there, it just added to the problem and made the car shake even more. My heart would always pound out of my chest as I was going over that grating at the top. It was horrible.
Now that they have replaced the grating with concrete, it’s a much better experience going over the top of the bridge; however, it still scares me, just not as badly.
The bridge is narrow. There are only 2 lanes on either side of the bridge. I never, ever, ever drive on the outside lane and if hubby’s driving, he knows it scares me so he doesn’t drive on the outside lane either. I have some weird freaky fear of going off the side of the bridge. If I’m on the inside lane, it, for some reason, makes me feel safer.
You should also know, it seems like they are forever working on this bridge. I have no idea why or what they are doing. When they do work on it, it tends to be late at night and then through the middle of the night. There have been many occasions when we’ve been in Arlington late at night and we hit Arlington Expressway to go across the bridge only to find out it’s closed and we have to change our route. It’s a good thing I know the city as well as I do and I know other routes to take. They do have those electronic light up signs that flash and tell you about the bridge closing, but yea, I never pay attention. If I payed more attention, I’d know to take a different route coming home to begin with. So don’t be like me… pay attention to the darn signs! LOL
I’ll also throw this in too. Just this past September (2013), some idiot in charge of a Military Sealift Command Ship didn’t pay attention to the tide levels that fateful day and rammed the ship right into the top of the bridge. *Rolls Eyes* I’m still amazed by that. I mean… really? You’re in charge of a huge ass boat and you don’t know to pay attention to the tide levels and know whether or not it’s safe to pass underneath a bridge?! Anyway, luckily no one was hurt. It did enough damage to the bridge that it had to be closed down and repaired, but none of the cars or passengers passing over the bridge at the time were harmed (thank goodness). I’m also shocked that the City of Jacksonville managed to get the bridge repaired in just a little over 30 days. That’s pretty amazing. The COJ usually isn’t quick about anything they do. During that month though, it caused all the other bridges to get really backed up and from what I understand traffic was a nightmare.
So there you have it. That’s my little review of The Mathews Bridge made infamous by Fred Durst. I hope I at least helped some of you Limp Bizkit fans who love the song My Generation and have always wondered what/​where the Mathews Bridge is located.

The Mathews bridge is long, strong, and down to get the friction on.
I am not a native, so I am not sure who this bridge was named after. I like to think it was named for all of the collective Mathews from around Jacksonville, rather than one important Mathew. Unless, of course, that Mathew was a war hero, adult film star or astronaut.
Functionally, it works pretty well. It takes you across the water without having to use a boat or swim, which is good for commuters.
The next time I need to get from the sketchy part of downtown to the sketchy part of Arlington, I’m definitely hopping on the Mathews.
The only downfall to this bridge, in my opinion, is that it sometimes gets hit by boats. Really big navy boats.

Accident on the bridge… sigh… And it is raining… It’s much better now that they changed it from the metal grating to concrete.

Easily, the most recognizable landmark in this city is the Mathews Bridge. Even before I moved to Jacksonville, I knew of its existence thanks to Fred Durst belting out «take it to the Mathews Bridge» in the opening of Limp Bizkit’s song, «My Generation.» Coming from suburban Connecticut to Jacksonville was quite an adjustment. While we have the Housatonic River up there, it is nothing compared to the St. John’s. I’m not scared of heights or bridges, but getting used to driving across the Mathews took a bit of time and practice. While it used to be my route of choice to get from the Westside over to Atlantic or out to the beaches, I’ve found that it usually isn’t the most ideal way to travel especially during rush hour.
Besides the buildings downtown and maybe some of the other bridges, I’d safely say that the Mathews is one of highest points in the city and offers a spectacular view as long as you aren’t the one driving. It’s been under construction and revitalization since I got back from Italy, it seems, with absolutely no end in sight. This causes the bridge to be closed down on Fridays and over the weekends. It really sucked to be out at Craig Airfield on a Friday night for Microeconomics class back in December to not be able to cross the Mathews to get back home or even in the middle of the week. The detour traffic is far past annoying now.

While this is one of the more frightening bridges in Jax it is still a beauty. The grating is scary enough but with the ongoing construction you can’t help but wonder what exactly they are fixing and how safe it is to be in a traffic jam on it???

Take ‘em to the Mathews Bridge! ~ Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit)
My dad took a photo of this bridge for me and it was part of a Christmas package for my former college roomie. She was a big Limp Bizkit fan. Upon first time meeting her, she was like, «O MY GOD! You’re from Jacksonville? Do you know Limp Bizkit!!!»
So, for Christmas one year, I wanted to get her something she couldn’t buy in the stores — a local piece of Limp Bizkit. And being from their hometown, what better way than to document pieces of their history in photos. We got pics of several places, including the former milk bar, the hospital where Fred Durst was born, the high school where drummer Sam Rivers attended and of course, the Mathews Bridge!
As for the bridge, I used to loathe driving on this darned thing — especially during my first years driving. In fact all my friends in high school hated driving on it too.
I don’t know what psycho thought it would be great to get people to quake in fear by putting that ridiculous grating on there. What was the point? Every other bridge in Jacksonville was normal with concrete. Was it just a way to put a limit to overcrowding and such? Really, I will never know, but good thing they got to their senses after years of the hazardous grating they finally replaced it with concrete.
Yes, it’s safer now. You can take ‘em to the Mathews Bridge… and jam out to some Limp Bizkit while you’re at it.
The Mathews Bridge takes you from Union St. or State St. in Downtown to Arlington Expressway in Arlington.

I give this bridge 5 STARS for being big and scary and intimidatin!!! Well, that’s what people would like you to believe, anyway.
The Matthews Bridge connects Arlington to Downtown and is connected to the Arlington Expressway which feeds onto Atlantic Blvd. which is the major transport road for all those beachers coming into the big ol’ city for their day jobs. It was named after John E. Mathews, a Florida state legislator and Chief Justice of the 1955 Florida Supreme Court who helped gather funding for the bridge’s construction.
Even in Jacksonville, a city known for its bridges, local residents still quake in fear over the thought of crossing this bridge. I don’t know that this was ever much of an issue until 2000 when the grating was replaced, making the top of the bridge super slick and hard to drive on. One woman even crashed her car over the edge! Since then, the speed limits were decreased and finally the grating was filled in with concrete [bye bye grating!].
I drove over this bridge a few times a day from the time I was 8 years old until I graduated high school. It’s impressively tall and boasts a beautiful view of the city’s skyline. If you are driving across this bridge, hold the wheel with both hands! And enjoy the ride.