This story has been updated to clarify what will be included in the overall project.
Pensacola plans to install an infrared laser system at the Graffiti Bridge this summer to warn drivers if the vehicle they’re driving won’t fit under the iconic railroad trestle.
The system would be designed to trigger banks of flashing lights to warn drivers to stop and turn around if they trip the infrared laser set 10 feet above the road—the same height as the Graffiti Bridge.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves announced the city was looking into acquiring the system in March 2025, but its taken a year to work out the legal details and clearances needed from the Florida Department of Transportation to install the warning system.
Reeves told the News Journal on March 9 that the warning system is the best solution to reduce crashes while also allowing the 17th Avenue Boat Ramp to remain accessible to boaters.
“We want to bring forward something—finally, after decades of time that’s really only been met with a little bit of signage—that not only keeps the structure of the bridge intact from a rail standpoint, it keeps traffic jams off of 17th Avenue, and keeps the bandwidth of our first responders in neighborhood streets and not standing yet again at the Graffiti Bridge,” Reeves told the News Journal. “So this would be the most concerted effort yet on a warning system that can actually prevent these before they happen.”
The estimated cost of the new system is approximately $325,000.
The warning system will be installed as part of a larger project that has items that have been on city’s wish list for nearly 14 years that include building a pedestrian walkway and boardwalk under the Bayou Texar railroad trestle to connect to the Bayou Texar boardwalk north of the railroad and renovate the 17th Avenue boat ramp.
Reeves said the city is working to start the project this summer.
When Reeves came into office, he said he would install a physical warning system like metal “chimes” that would alert drivers, but like previous mayors discovered just how complex the situation is that has left Graffiti Bridge undefeated in its encounters with trucks.
Reeves said the city pivoted to the infrared system after trying to grapple with places to install a physical warning system that wouldn’t block access to the 17th Avenue Boat ramp and also give drivers enough time to change course.
While the city controls 17th Avenue north of the bridge, south of the bridge, 17th Avenue becomes FDOT jurisdiction and any infrastructure installed on that side of the bridge has to be approved by FDOT.
The Pensacola City Council will vote on March 12 to approve an agreement with FDOT giving the city the ability to install a warning system that meets FDOT regulations and requires the city to maintain and repair it.
“I think there’s a perception that you could just bring a shovel and put a bar in, like you see in a fast food drive through,” Reeves said. “This is not our right of way. There are clear rules.”
A 2023 cost estimate Reeves got for a physical system ranged from $120,000 to $270,000 and the estimates did not include the curb modifications that would’ve been needed to install the system closer to the bridge.
However, FDOT only approved one type of warning chime on the road that Reeves describe as looking like “enormous orange buoys.”
“I can only imagine what my email would’ve been if we put that in front of the iconic bridge that everybody uses,” Reeves said.
Reeves said he knows that $325,000 may sound like a lot but reducing the number of accidents at the bridge will more than pay for itself over time in the costs for police to respond and for inspections of the bridge.
The majority of vehicle crashes at Graffiti Bridge are from trucks coming from the south and exiting the Gen. Daniel “Chappy” James Jr. Bridge. The infrared lasers will be installed about 780 feet south of Graffiti Bridge and trigger flashing warning lights and LED signs that say “Over height vehicle detected.”
Signs will also direct the drivers to turn off into the 17th Avenue Boat Ramp parking lot to turn around.
On the north side of the bridge, the signs would tell people to turn left onto Wright Street to avoid hitting the bridge.
City Engineer Brad Hinote told the City Council on March 9 that FDOT in Maitland had seen success with the same type of warning system.
“It gives you an opportunity to turn off before you do something stupid, for lack of a better word,” Hinote said.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: New laser warning system may keep trucks from getting stuck under Graffiti Bridge
Reporting by Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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