Courtney Campbell Causeway

Courtney Campbell Causeway
Coordinates	27°58′01″N 82°39′00″W
Carries	Four lanes of SR 60
Crosses	Old Tampa Bay
Locale	Clearwater to Tampa, Florida
Maintained by	Florida Department of Transportation
History
Opened	June 28, 1934
Statistics
Daily traffic	52,500
Location

Aerial view from Tampa to Clearwater.

The Courtney Campbell Causeway is the northernmost bridge across Old Tampa Bay, carrying State Road 60 between Clearwater and Tampa, Florida.

History

The Davis Causeway in 1934

The Causeway was commissioned by the owner of a local dredging company, Ben T. Davis, in the late 1920s to provide a more direct link between Tampa and Clearwater. The only current land route at that time required travelling over 30 miles (48 km) around the northern shore of Tampa Bay, through the community of Oldsmar. His proposal was granted and work began in earnest in 1927 and continued off and on as Davis' dredging company ran out of other work to do. During construction, one of the original bridge spans was destroyed by a hurricane.

Costing $900,000 in total, the Davis Causeway was opened on January 28, 1934 with a 25¢ toll per car. In 1944, the federal government seized the Davis Causeway as part of America's war effort, paying its previous owners $1.1 million and transferring ownership to the state of Florida.

In 1948, the Davis Causeway was renamed for Courtney W. Campbell, a Clearwater Beach resident, U.S. Representative, and member of the Florida Road Board who spearheaded efforts to ensure needed repairs and beautification of the Causeway was completed.

In 2005, the Causeway was designated as an official scenic highway by the state of Florida.

Today

In its current form, the Courtney Campbell Causeway stretches approximately 9.9 miles (15.9 km) from eastern Clearwater to Tampa's Rocky Point island and subsequently to the mainland of western Tampa. The topographical causeway is broken by two elevated spans that allow watercraft access to and from Old Tampa Bay.

There are two beaches along the Causeway: Ben T. Davis Municipal Beach at the east end and an unnamed beach owned by the DOT on the west end. Frontage roads accessible at several points along the route run alongside the main four-lane road and are broken up by the bridge spans. A public boat ramp exists on the northern side just east of the largest bridge span.

Because of its lower capacity, lower posted speed limits, and lack of elevation coupled with the numerous palm and mangrove vegetation along the route, the Causeway offers some of the most picturesque views of any major road in the Tampa Bay area.

As of 2007, the Florida DOT is conducting a study to further enhance the Causeway with the addition of a recreational trail, likely supplanting the less-used frontage road on the north side.

As of 2010, Florida DOT has constructed a service road as part of the Airport Interchange project. When the gate is unlocked, this will serve as a bike path connecting Cypress Road (at Cypress Point Park), Tampa to the Causeway and Rocky Point Island. Additionally, a bike path connecting the Causeway to Dana Shores Drive and Town 'n' Country (with a street connection to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail) has been paved. Given the demolition of the Friendship Trail Bridge, this bicycle link will become an important connection across Tampa Bay.

External links

Media related to Courtney Campbell Causeway at Wikimedia Commons

• "It's official: Courtney Campbell is scenic"