We’re getting new answers from the Florida Department of Transportation on why the Main Street Bridge was raised ahead of a planned Pride March on Sunday.
The bridge lighting battle has been going on for at least two years, after Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all state-run bridges be lit red, white and blue last year for the so-called Freedom Summer.
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The move prevented cities like Jacksonville from lighting some bridges in rainbow colors for Pride month.
In response, protestors in 2024 held their own lighting of the Main Street Bridge using flashlights.
This year, after FDOT announced all state run bridges would again be lit red, white, and blue for the county’s 250th birthday, Pride activists wanted to repeat last year’s Main Street Bridge lighting.
But an hour before they’d been told they would need to clear off the bridge ahead of scheduled maintenance, the bridge was raised.
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Hampton Ray with FDOT told Action News Jax the bridge was briefly lifted to get workers into position, and was lowered after marchers had already moved on.
He claimed work still began at 9 p.m. as scheduled.
“We did have to have our crews in place. And this was performed every single night from Thursday night till actually Monday evening. Crews were performing this same high lift from between 7:30 and 8:30 in order to access the point,” Ray said.
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In response to the explanation given by FDOT, March Organizer Matt McAllister sent Action News Jax this statement:
“I thank Mr. Ray for his detailed and professional explanation. Given our intention to fully comply with 9:00 pm scheduled closure, the 20 minute delay would have made it impossible to place 146 people in precise locations to shine for 20 minutes and then safely and completely evacuate the bridge. When we asked city officials if our 8:00 pm entrance would, for any reason, be impeded, we were assured it would not be,” McAllister said. ”In the end, the bureaucratic lemons served to us made a particularly sweet lemonade. It was important to return Pride lighting, however briefly, to its rightful place on the Acosta Bridge.”
The FDOT spokesperson also said generally, it’s helpful for groups to have permits to ensure situations like this can be avoided.
McAllister noted permits are not required for gatherings in public spaces with fewer than 500 participants.
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