'Looks like a dump': Locals concerned with trash build-up on Buckman Bridge

ORANGE PARK, Fla. — A site that’ll make your eyes sore.

Our Ask Anthony email received several complaints over the past few weeks, from viewers concerned with the amount of garbage on the bridge.

A viewer wrote in to the station saying the Buckman Bridge “looks like a dump, and that trash is scattered from one end to the other.”

Another viewer added that the bridge has become an “eyesore.”

Our Ask Anthony team reached out to the Florida Department of Transportation to get some answers, so those complaints won’t go to “waste.”

“Given the volume of traffic we have on the Buckman, it certainly is a challenge,” said FDOT Spokesperson Hampton Ray.

Ray says the bridge is still getting cleaned in regular 6-8 week cycles – the same cycle used on all of Jacksonville’s bridges.

Ray says they do the majority of the cleaning at night so they can close lanes without impeding as much traffic.

“You probably don’t see the activity happen,” said Ray. “We’re just like little elves that come in and do the work overnight. Hopefully, you wake up on Christmas Day and it looks really nice and clean.”

Ray says they don’t clean any more frequently to keep from straining tax payer dollars.

FDOT has rangers who will go out between cleanings to grab large items that pose safety risks

“We have a crew member who has to go out there and retrieve this item from the roadway. It puts their life in danger, puts other people in a bad place.”

Ray’s hoping drivers can make an effort to secure their loads and take their trash home.

“Help us be proud of where we live,” said Ray. “We live here too. We want our roads to be as beautiful as possible.”