Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Coordinates: 27 ° 37 ′ 30 ″ N , 82 ° 39 ′ 30 ″ W.
Sunshine Skyway Bridge | ||
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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) |
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toll | $ 1.50 ($ 1 with SunPass ) | |
location | ||
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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
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
- Sunshine Skyway Bridge on Interstate275Florida.com (English)
- Jean Muller, Daniel Tassin: Design principles and construction methods of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. In: IABSE reports = Rapports AIPC = IVBH Reports, Volume 55, 1987, p. 53 ( http://doi.org/10.5169/seals-42706 )