Tampa, Florida and the surrounding area is known for its water. In fact, the body of water Tampa Bay is named after a popular name in the West Central Florida region that is home to the cities of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Bradenton, Brandon, Plant City, and Tampa. Bridges that carry local motorists and travelers alike through the Tampa Bay area provide key ways to get around. area.
The five most famous bridges in Tampa Bay are the Howard Frankland Bridge, the Courtney Campbell Causeway, the Gandy Bridge, the Bayside Bridge, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
At the bridge of France Howard
The Howard Franco-Land Bridge is an eight-lane highway connecting Tampa with central Pinellas County. The original 4-lane span of the Howard Frankland Bridge opened in 1959, at a cost of $16 million. In the following years, France Howard soon became one of the most well-traveled bridges in the country.
In the late 1980s, construction began on a 4-lane parallel building. The new, $54 million bridge opened to much fanfare in 1991 and, the following year, upgrades were made to the original 1959 bridge. From 1992 both spans carried four lanes of traffic.
The 1959 bridge now carries 4 lanes of traffic from Pinellas County to Tampa; There is a more recent shot of shooting motorists from Tampa to Pinellas County. Kennedy Boulevard is easily accessible from the eastern edge of the Howard Frankland Bridge. On the West bridge there are exits to North 4th and Ulmerton Road.
Interestingly, the Howard Frankland Bridge was once officially part of Interstate 4. That changed in the early 1970s; The Howard Frankland Bridge has since been designated as Interstate 275.
Courtney Campbell Products
If you’re a tourist or a Tampa resident heading to the local beaches, it’s a pretty decent chance that you’ll include the Courtney Campbell Case on your itinerary. Part of State Route 60, Courtney Campbell is a direct connection between Tampa and Clearwater. On the way, Ben T. Davis Beach, Oldsmar Bank, and a beautiful view of the waters of Old Tampa Bay. In fact, Courtney Campbell Bridge is designated as the Florida Scenic Byway.
Space in 1934; each car crossing what was then known as the Davis Bridge charged a 25 cent toll. In 1944, Davis Bridge was purchased by the State of Florida and named after Courtney Campbell, a resident who was a member of the United States Congress and was a member of the Florida Road Board, who was instrumental in efforts to make the bridge suitable and accessible.
Courtney Campbell Cases of motorist crashes near Tampa International Airport on the east side of the bridge; the vicinity of the Port of Salvation in the north only crept north on the western side.
Bayside Bridge
With the need to support the congested traffic of Central America in Pinellas County, the Bayside Bridge was built in 1993, with the purpose of connecting McMullen Booth Road to the vicinity of North 49th Street and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.
The Bayside Bridge is unique in the area as it is the only major bridge that crosses Tampa Bay with a north-south . Boasting six lanes, the Bayside Bridge is a quick connection between Courtney Campbell Causeway to the north and Roosevelt Boulevard to the south.
Pontus Gandy
The first of Tampa Bay’s large bridges, the Gandy Bridge first opened in 1924, when it opened its 2.5 -mile distance broke the world record for the longest toll bridge for cars. The 75-cent toll per car (and 10 cents for each passenger behind the driver) was a reasonable amount, given that the Gandy Bridge spanned over 20 miles from one side of Tampa Bay to the other.
In 1956, a new span opened to supplement the load of the original two-lane bridge. In 1975 a new span opened east of the Gandy Bridge, and the original bridge was closed and later demolished. Construction was completed on the newer western span in 1997. The lack of traffic of the 1956 bridge has now been replaced by both the 1975 and 1997 bridges, the 1956 span of the Gandy bridge in 1999 as walking and biking trail and Friendship Trail called the Bridge.
Withstanding the violent forces of nature from winds, weather, and traffic for more than half a century, the collapse of the Friendship Trail resulted in the indefinite closure of the bridge in 2008. The Gandy County Commission decided to demolish both sides of the bridge. 1956 structure at some point in the coming year.
Maria Skyway Bridge
Perhaps the only piece of interstate architecture in Tampa Bay that is truly connected to attract tourists, the Sun Skyway Bridge is a 4-lane concrete bridge that connects Pinellas County to Manatee County and spans the mouth of Tampa Bay.
The history of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge goes back to the 1954 opening of the two metal cantilever bridge that served as a critical artery in the region. In 1971, another, almost identical cantilever bridge opened parallel to the 1954 bridge to complete a total of 4 lanes for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
The Gemini span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge served motorists for the rest of the 1970s until one tumultuous and tragic day in May 1980. That’s when the freighter known as the Summit Venture crossed the southern bridge (the span was built in 1971). . 35 people died in the bridge collapse, including those on the Greyhound bus. After world-class efforts, the Skyway Skyway Bridge has been reduced to its original, 2-lane, bridge built a quarter century ago.
After deliberations, it was determined that the construction of a new 4-lane bridge would be the most appropriate course of reconstruction – especially given that both the old Sun Skyway spans were not built to interstate standard (the Sun Skyway Bridge would not become part of Interstate 275 until later in the 1980s).
In 1987, the Sol Sol Skyway Bridge opened with a major formal celebration. By 1991, most of the old concrete and metal structures of the 1954 and 1971 spans of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge were demolished; only the eastern and western approaches to the bridges remain today, serving the fishing industry.
Resources
First knowledge and experience
Gandy Bridge
Courtney Campbell Bridge / Florida Or Highway
Campbell Bridge Courtney
Howard Frankland Bridge
Bayside Bridge
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
