Sunshine Skyway Bridge

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Coordinates: 27 ° 37 ′ 30 ″  N , 82 ° 39 ′ 30 ″  W.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Official name The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge
use Interstate 275 , US Route 19
Crossing of Tampa Bay
place Saint Petersburg ( Florida ) and Terra Ceia
overall length 8851 m
width 28.7 m
Longest span 366.75 m
height 58.8 m
Headroom 53.3 m
vehicles per day 50,500
opening 1954 (original bridge collapsed in 1980)
April 20, 1987 (new bridge)
toll $ 1.50 ($ 1 with SunPass )
location
Sunshine Skyway Bridge (Florida)
Sunshine Skyway Bridge

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge spans Tampa Bay and connects the city of Saint Petersburg with Terra Ceia . With a length of 8851.392 meters (exactly 5.5 miles), it is one of the longest bridges with a central stay cable opening. Construction of today's toll bridge began in 1982 and cost USD 667 million. The completed bridge was inaugurated on February 7, 1987 and opened to traffic on April 20, 1987.

In September 1994 the bridge was officially named the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge , after Florida Governor Bob Graham , who was in office during the design and much of the construction.

Original bridge

Demolition of the old bridge, the new one on the right
Bridge as seen from Fort De Soto Park

Today's bridge replaced a steel bridge of the same name constructed by the German-American civil engineer Hannskarl Bandel . The originally two-lane bridge was completed in 1954 and replaced the ferry service from Point Pinellas to Piney Point . In 1969, a similar bridge was built parallel to the existing one to meet the interstate requirement of four lanes.

Bridge collapse

On May 9, 1980, the cargo ship MV Summit Venture collided with a bridge pier during a storm, whereupon about 366 meters of the original bridge fell into Tampa Bay. Six cars and a Greyhound Lines bus fell 46 meters into the water, killing 35 people.

Wesley MacIntire was the only person who survived the fall, as his SUV landed on the deck of the cargo ship first before falling into the water. He sued the ship's owners, and in 1984 he reached a settlement for $ 175,000.

After the accident, the two north-facing lanes had to cope with traffic in both directions until today's bridge was completed. Before the old bridge was demolished, Wesley MacIntire was the last person to drive over the bridge again.

Web links

Commons : Sunshine Skyway Bridge  - collection of images, videos and audio files