Local

Liberty Street fix awaits funding

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A City Council committee delayed a vote on funding a fix to a major eyesore downtown. City officials blame an overweight crane for the 2012 collapse of Liberty Street between Courthouse Drive and Coastline Drive.

Negotiations between the city and the contractor have stalled, so Mayor Alvin Brown's Office is seeking to transfer $750,000 from the Northbank Riverwalk project on an emergency basis to fix the street. But one Council Member questioned whether the money is there to complete the project.

“It doesn’t appear to me that they’ve borrowed the money from what they’ve provided us,” said Lori Boyer, council member for District 5. “It’s an authorization that they’re transferring.”

Boyer said that means while the Northbank Riverwalk project can go ahead, the city hasn’t borrowed the money needed to get it off the ground. Boyer also said that means the city would have to borrow more money to fix Liberty Street, something the City Council may not approve.

A council subcommittee will meet Wednesday morning to try and determine which current and future projects need to be funded.