From the Gainesville Sun

By Cindy Swirko
Staff writer

John Brasington was a long-time, successful car salesman in Gainesville. On Friday, atop a bridge over U.S. 301, his biggest sale was finalized.

Brasington, about to celebrate his 99th birthday, has for three decades sold the idea for an overpass on State Road 26 at U.S. 301 to the state Department of Transportation.

His badgering paid off. He was the featured guest at a ribbon-cutting, and his red Cadillac was the first car to cross the bridge.

"I'm glad to be able to be here," Brasington said. "All these guys used to tell me, ‘You'll never live long enough to see it,' but I'm alive and I'm seeing it."

Brasington owned Brasington Cadillac- Oldsmobile on Northwest 13th Street and commuted for many years from Keystone Heights. He said as a boy his dad owned a car shop that had a wrecker service, and he remembered an accident at the intersection that killed three people.

Accidents have continued to be a problem at the intersection. But it is most notorious for traffic back-ups during weekday mornings and afternoons as commuters stream into and out of work in Gainesville from the Melrose and Keystone Heights areas.

Appropriately enough, Friday's ceremony had to be halted for a few minutes while a train passed underneath. The frequent trains also created traffic jams at the intersection.

"This is a great day, because anybody who has been here, especially around 4:30 in the afternoon and 6:30 in the morning, knows how difficult it is to get through the intersection," said Alachua County Commission Chairman Lee Pinkoson. "And when a train comes, it makes it even more interesting."

Several residents of the Melrose area were on top of the overpass as well, enjoying the view and bridge.

"This is the end of a long wait," said Jo Harben of Melrose.

The overpass cost about $10 million, most of which was federal money. It is 25 feet high and 1.7 miles long with the roadway connectors, the bridge itself is 278 feet long.Average daily traffic is 8,700 vehicles on SR 26 and 11,400 on U.S. 301.

Motorists can opt to forgo the bridge and drive through the intersection.