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Published on Tuesday, December 16, 2003
in the St. Augustine Record
Law enforcement officers and traffic teams from four counties gathered Monday morning at the foot of the Shands Bridge to warn motorists to be safe and alert for the holiday season in the fifth annual "Celebrate Safely" campaign.
The Shands Bridge itself has proven to be a deadly roadway as two motorists died in recent months after being hit from behind and plunging through guardrails into the St. Johns River.
"It's not the safest bridge in the world," said St. Johns County Sheriff's Capt. Art May.
Officials with the state Department of Transportation looked at the railings after the deaths and decided to spend up to $1.5 million to create stronger barrier walls to protect vehicles, according to Gina Busscher, public information officer for the DOT in its District II headquarters in Lake City.
She said officials are still negotiating with consultants to create a design for the new barrier. She said the design will be complete after the New Year and added to the budget next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
"It's a worthwhile investment right now, if it can save a life," Busscher said.
The Shands Bridge was chosen as the site to warn motorists about increased traffic during the holiday months because it is a central point in the region, May said.
"This is what you would call a choke point," May said. He said the Shands Bridge is a back road into Clay, Duval and St. Johns counties and drunk drivers think they can avoid police detection taking the bridge instead of main roads and highways.
May said enforcement will be strict throughout the county and no road will be overlooked when it comes to seeking drunk drivers.
Law enforcement from the St. Augustine and Green Cove Springs police departments, Florida Highway Patrol and surrounding counties will work together with the goal of keeping the number fatalities down in the coming weeks.
"Typically we find this to be one of the deadliest periods," said Andrea Atran, community traffic program coordinator for the DOT. "We want to see zero deaths."
Florida Highway Patrol Capt. Brent Coates said there will be an increase in road congestion as people rush to holiday parties, family gatherings and shopping malls.
Trooper Dawn Tomlinson agreed, saying lawmen will be vigilant in finding people who are not obeying traffic laws. In particular, officers will issue tickets to motorists not wearing their seatbelts or properly buckling in children, she said.
Lee Riley, manager of Landstar trucking company in St. Johns County, said buckling up is the easiest thing motorists can do to protect themselves. About 10,000 Landstar trucks are making runs in the United States and Canada at a given time, and drivers are told to alert police if they sense a driver might be intoxicated, he said.
Drivers are also instructed to strap in, he said, adding, "centrifugal force will flat throw you out of that seat."