Sunshine Skyway Bridge

By Lukas Grimm

   September 6, 1954, the 4-mile-long Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened, carrying two lanes of I-275/US 19 traffic over the Tampa Bay, between Bradenton and St. Petersburg, in west central Florida. It cost $22 million, and had a height clearance of 150′.

   It is constructed of steel and concrete. Steel cables clad in 84 9-inch (229 mm) steel tubes (42 per pylon) along the center line of the bridge support the main span. It was designed by the Figg & Muller Engineering Group , and built by the American Bridge Company.

Disaster

   The southbound span (opened in 1971) of the original bridge was destroyed at 7:30 a.m. on May 9, 1980, when the freighter MV Summit Venture collided with a pier (support column) during a blinding thunderstorm, sending over 1200 feet of the bridge plummeting into Tampa Bay. The collision caused six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound bus to fall 150 feet into the water, killing 35 people.

Bridge Suicides

   According to compilations from various media reports as of 2009, at least 207 people have committed suicide by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening of the new bridge in 1987, and an estimated 34 others have tried, but survived.

New Bridge

Opened	(original bridge, collapsed 1980) April 20, 1987 (new bridge)
Toll	$1.25 for passenger cars or $1.00 with Sunpass

 

Total length	4.1 miles
Width	94 feet
Height	431 feet
Daily Traffic	50,500 cars
Longest span	1,200 feet
Vertical clearance	193 feet
Clearance below	175 feet

   Florida Governor Bob Graham conceived of the idea for the new bridge, which was opened on April 30, 1987. It was located next to the remains of the old, damaged bridge, which was demolished in 1991. At a cost of $244 million, the new bridge was safer than the original, and wider, the shipping channel now being 50% wider.

The Piers

   The fishing piers, which are located on the north and south sides of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, are the longest in the world, and are open 24-hours a day (they are lighted), 365 days a year. The park also features bait shops, fishing supplies, and food and drink.

   In 2005 it got named the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge because he was the governor who had the vision for it in its early years. The song “Skyway Avenue” by local band We The Kings is named in reference to the bridge. The bridge is considered the “flag bridge” of Florida.

 

^   View from diving on the Bridge

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge
www.skywaydisaster.com/
www.skywaybridge.com/accident.htm
www.floridastateparks.org/skyway/‎