The Gulf of Mexico is home to Tampa Bay, a big natural harbor.
You will see the bay opening in front of the city of Tampa, which is on the west coast of Florida.
What is unique about the Sunshine Skyway Bridge?
I hear people talk about the Sunshine Skyway Bridge as the world’s longest cable-stayed concrete bridge.
I believe the cable nature of the bridge makes it unique.
Do you know that six different bridges span the bay, some of which are relatively long?
For instance, Courtney Campbell Causeway opened to traffic in 1934 is about 16 kilometers long.
The Howard Frankland Bridge opened to traffic in 1960, is 4.8 kilometers long.
The Gandy Bridge, which was completed in 1924 and has been renovated many times, is 4.5 kilometers long.
What is unique about the Sunshine Skyway Bridge?
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world and the most famous bridge that runs across Tampa Bay, with a length of about 6.7 kilometers.
This bridge experienced the most dramatic disasters ever in the history of Florida.
The tragic story of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge reminds the Italians of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, which sometimes collapsed and killed 35 people.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge
I have mentioned that the bridge is the longest cable-stayed concrete bridge you can find anywhere.
Sunshine Skyway Bridge is the most popular of all the cable-stayed bridges that have been constructed in different states of America since the late 1970s.
It comprises a trestle, approach spans, low-level approach spans, high-level approach spans, and 366 meters of the cable-stayed main span.
Twin box girders were used in constructing the low-level approach spans, while a single-cell box girder was used in constructing the main span.
It was in the early 1990s the old bridge was demolished.
While the new bridge was under construction, the part of the old bridge that remained has still been used as a two-lane road, while the southern span was converted into a fishing pier by fishermen.
The New Sunshine Skyway Bridge
The new bridge was completed on the 20th of April 1987.
The Hardaway Company partially demolished the old bridge in the early 1990s.
Every part of the bridge, including underwater elements, was carefully dismantled.
Everything that remained of the old bridge became a State Park, and the rest of the demolished side of the bridge like the steel truss and the concrete piers were blasted.
Both lanes of the old bridge were completely demolished in 1993.
There was no change in the approaches to the old bridges, although they were turned into a State Park called the “Skyway Fishing Pier State Park.”
The piers mainly used by fishermen on the northern and southern sides of Tampa Bay formed a part of this park.
The Skyway Fishing Pier State Park is a nice spot for pictures, and many photographers also visited it.
What to Know about Skyway Bridge
The length of the new bridge is over 4 miles.
Amazingly, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge has a total length of about 4.14 miles (6.7 kilometers), and its width is about 94 feet (29 meters).
That is why it is the longest bridge in America.
Its longest span is 1,200 feet (366 meters), and its deck is as high as 180.5 feet (55 meters) above the water.
At a total height of 430 feet (131 meters), both towers of the bridge are qualified to be called skyscrapers.
The constitution of the bridge lasted for about five years, beginning in June 1982 and ending in April 1987.
One of the features of the bridge is the crisis hotline phones with which suicide jumping into the river can be prevented.
The dark side of Sunshine Skyway Bridge
The bridge is beautiful for cars to drive through, but unfortunately, it is also a common suicide scene.
It is on record that at least 310 people have jumped off the bridge to the water below to commit suicide.
43 people are said to have miraculously survived the jump.
6 crisis hotline phones are strategically installed at different spots on the bridge because of the constant dangers people face on the bridge and to prevent suicides.
Many people have called this hotline, and all of them have survived.
There is supposed to be a more effective replacement for phones.
You may wonder why the authorities have not thought about it.
However, in 2020 there was an announcement that an official plan to install Skyway Vertical Net along the bridge was in the pipeline.
When installed, it will become impossible for anyone to jump from the bridge with suicide intention.
Such a person will end up jumping into the net.
The net was designed to be installed alongside the outer barriers of the bridge, extending about 8 feet (2.4 meters) from the barriers, and it will have a total length of 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers).
Can you imagine how massive this net will be?
The pride of the Sunshine State
As one of the ways to the control-access highway, walking on the bridge is prohibited, yet it is an icon of pride for the state of Florida.
The imposing towers of the bridge have become the symbol of Florida, and many media organizations like television, filmmakers, and novelists have used them.
You will see the most notable features of the bridge in movies like “Loren Cass” produced in 2006, and “The Punisher” produced in 2004.
A lighting system that cost about $15.6 million was installed on the bridge in 2017.
This lighting system further highlights the bridge’s important role as the Sunshine State symbol, especially at night.
FAQs
What is the oldest bridge in Florida?
The Bellamy Bridge Heritage Trail begins from CR-162 in Jackson County and stretches to the oldest bridge similar to it in Florida.
It is one and a half miles long and a nature trail.
What is the longest bridge in Florida over water?
The longest bridge in Florida over water is the Seven Mile Bridge, located in the Florida Keys.
The list includes more than 2,640 feet (800 m) overwater automobile bridges.
What’s the second tallest bridge in Florida?
The second tallest bridge in Florida is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
