JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The link between San Marco and Riverside is complete. Finally.
Jacksonville residents have been waiting years for the completion of the Fuller Warren Bridge Shared Use Path (SUP) and it finally opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday morning.
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By early afternoon when News4JAX took a bike cruise across the newly opened span, there were more than a dozen people on the path. Some were on foot. More were on bicycles. One man, wearing slacks, a long-white collared shirt and a tie, was taking a walk on his break from lunch. Another man pulled a small child up in a wagon.
The weather made it a warm walk, but the breeze of cars whizzing by on the Fuller Warren, combined with the wind off the river, made it a comfortable ride.
The shared use path is less than a mile long (4,654 feet), but it feels far greater than that. 12 feet wide and split into two 6-foot lanes. There are two lookout areas on the path where pedestrians can branch off and enjoy the scenery. The incline is noticeable on each side of the path
So, where can people looking to check out the new shared use path access it? There’s an access point off Riverside Avenue, under the overpass directly across the street from where the Riverside Arts Market is held. There is free public parking to use the path there. On the San Marco side, there is paid public parking not far from the shared use path entrance. Pedestrians can access the path from that side behind Nemours Hospital.
The new path had been delayed since last fall.
The Florida Department of Transportation began work on the project in May 2017 as a way to upgrade and improve the I-10/I-95 interchange. The cost of the entire project was $126 million.