By the end of this month, the lions on Lions Bridge will be gone, at least on the west end.
The city of St. Augustine hired a Green Cove Springs contractor to remove the iconic lion to make room for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to replace the seawall along the Matanzas River. Action News Jax first told you last year that FDOT and the city were considering a $100,000 deal to remove the lions.
The city told Action News Jax that the lions will be off the bridge by December 2028 at the earliest, around the same time that FDOT’s seawall replacement project is expected to be completed.
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“It would be very sad,” said Arosti, a frequent visitor to St. Augustine who declined to give his last name. “I think all the other postcards of St. Augustine have those lions on them. By the time you get here, the lions are gone. Good luck explaining that.”
The decision to move the lions was not applauded by everyone, but some felt it was necessary as long as they saw the lions return.
“As long as they’re properly protected, we know they’ll come back to where they belong,” said Tom Buchanan, a St. Augustine regular who lives on St. Simons Island.
Action News Jax has shared multiple stories with you over the past few years about FDOT’s seawall replacement projects.
FDOT documents show the chain-link seawall will be replaced with a short concrete barrier wall, in part to prevent future flooding downtown.
“We’re just doing what we think is right,” said Marcus Pinson, city of St. Augustine project manager, “and that’s taking [the lions] Put them down and keep them in a safe place while construction works around them. “
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Pinson shared details about the lion removal with Action News Jax. He told us that the base of the lion statue, the base that supported the statue, had been removed.
A metal barrier will be in place around the lions until next week, when steel cages will be placed around them so they can eventually be removed from the bridge with construction cranes.
“It won’t take more than three or four hours. You know, the actual process of removing the lion, we’re hoping it might take two hours,” Pinson said.
Pinson said the lions were removed primarily to avoid the risk of damage while FDOT construction crews replace the seawall.
“If something happens [to them] They are essentially irreplaceable during the seawall project,” Pinson said.
The city plans to remove the lions from the bridge on January 27, which will cause the bridge to close starting around 11:00 p.m.
The city has not revealed where the lions will be housed while the seawall work is underway, but said the statues will be restored when they leave the bridge.
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