{{short description|Bridge in Florida, United States of America}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox bridge |name=Osteen Bridge |image= |caption= |official_name=Douglas Stenstrom Bridge |id=790124<br />790219 |locale=Indian Mound Village, Florida |maint=Florida Department of Transportation |carries={{jct|state=FL|SR|415}}<br>(4 general purpose lanes) |crosses=St. Johns River |design=Steel-reinforced concrete |mainspan= |length={{convert|2426|ft}} |below={{convert|24|ft}} |open=April 1977 |coordinates={{coord|28.8026|-81.2102|display=inline,title}} |mapframe-zoom=12 }} The '''Douglas Stenstrom Bridge''', also known as the '''Osteen Bridge''', is a steel-and-concrete bridge located in Indian Mound Village, Florida, east of Sanford, that carries State Road 415 over the St. Johns River. The current bridge was completed in 1977, replacing a 1920s vintage bridge that was considered the most dangerous in the state; a second parallel span was completed in 2015.
==History== The original Osteen Bridge, a hand-turned swing bridge,<ref name="DBMJ1976">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19760914&id=PJkpAAAAIBAJ&pg=2331,5255487|title=Osteen Bridge Work On Time|last=Weber|first=Dave|date=September 14, 1976|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=2B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}}</ref> was built in the 1920s;<ref name="Ded">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=57MtAAAAIBAJ&pg=6705,1178211&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=Osteen Bridge Dedicated|date=August 18, 1978|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=1B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}}</ref> it was rebuilt in 1947. The bridge is located just upstream from Lake Monroe,<ref>Belleville 2000, p.56.</ref> crossing the Indian Mound Slu portion of the river between Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup; by the 1970s the original bridge, only {{convert|14|ft}} in width, proved dangerous and too narrow for continued use, being described as "the worst bridge in Florida" in 1972.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2E8fAAAAIBAJ&pg=5363,8036528&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=New Osteen Bridge Hearing Tonight|date=February 28, 1972|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=3|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}}</ref> In 1973, mats of invasive water hyacinth caused damage to the bridge's structure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/Operations/Branches/InvSpecies/Operations_Timeline.htm|title=Timeline of the Major Events in the Aquatic Plant Control Program|date=July 31, 2012|publisher=U.S. Army Corps of Engineers|access-date=2012-09-07}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
An accident in 1974 that killed five people when their van was run off the bridge by a truck gave the final impetus to the construction of a new bridge, replacing the dangerous older span.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tocpAAAAIBAJ&pg=2265,3652183&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=Osteen Bridge Moving Along|last=Weber|first=Dave|date=October 10, 1975|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=1B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}}</ref> The new Osteen Bridge was constructed starting in 1975, with work continuing through 1976 and early 1977;<ref name="DBMJ1976"/> constructed by the Houdaille-Duval-Wright company of Jacksonville,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=10UfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2328,2583582&dq=osteen-bridge&hl=en|title=Work To Start On New Osteen Bridge|date=July 9, 1975|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=2B|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Daytona Beach, FL}}</ref> the project cost approximately $2.6 million USD.<ref name="DBMJ1976"/> The new bridge opened in April 1977, and was officially named the Douglas Stenstrom Bridge in 1978, after a Florida state senator Douglas Stenstrom who had pushed for the completion of the project.<ref name="Ded"/> Part of the previous bridge was left in place, serving as a fishing pier.<ref>McCarthy 2008, p.15.</ref>
Repairs to the bridge were undertaken during 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mysanfordherald.com/bookmark/13181478-DOT-to-repair-Osteen-Bridge|title=DOT to repair Osteen Bridge|date=May 9, 2011|work=The Sanford Herald|access-date=2012-09-07|location=Sanford, FL|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045919/http://mysanfordherald.com/bookmark/13181478-DOT-to-repair-Osteen-Bridge|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> A second parallel bridge was completed in 2015 to support the widening of SR 415 to 2 lanes in each direction.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Daytona Beach News-Journal |url= http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20131112/sr-415-widening-project-makes-progress |title= S.R. 415 widening project makes progress |last= Harper |first= Mark |date= November 12, 2013}}</ref>
==References== ;Citations {{reflist|2}} ;Bibliography {{refbegin}} * {{cite book|last=Belleville|first=Bill|title=River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River|year=2000|publisher=University of Georgia Press|location=Athens, GA|isbn=0-8203-2344-6}} * {{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Kevin M.|title=St. Johns River Guidebook|edition=2nd|year=2008|publisher=Pineapple Press|location=Sarasota, FL|isbn=978-1-56164-435-3}} {{refend}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Douglas Stenstrom Bridge}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNIg76QSfVc Crossing the bridge] * [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1870&dat=19741212&id=4NYpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h9EEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3861,5639430&hl=en]
{{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = St. Johns River |bridge = Osteen Bridge |bridge signs = 25px |upstream = Mims Bridge |upstream signs = 25px |downstream = Veterans Memorial Bridge |downstream signs = 20px }} {{Bridges of Florida}}
Category:Bridges over the St. Johns River Category:Bridges completed in 1977 Category:Road bridges in Florida Category:Bridges in Volusia County, Florida Category:Bridges in Seminole County, Florida Category:1977 establishments in Florida Category:Concrete bridges in the United States