- In full:
- Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
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What is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge?
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge since 2005, is a cable-stayed concrete bridge that spans Tampa Bay in western Florida, connecting St. Petersburg with Terra Ceia. Designed by Eugene C. Figg, Jr., and Jean Muller, it was the longest bridge of its type when it opened in 1987. The bridge stretches 5.5 miles (8.9 km) across the bay and rises 190 feet (58 meters), with a main span of 1,200 feet (366 meters). Its bright yellow cables pay tribute to Florida's "Sunshine State" moniker. The current bridge includes safety features like concrete islands around its piers to protect against ship collisions. In 2019, aesthetic lighting was added to decorate the bridge for holidays.
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Where is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge located?
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a cable-stayed concrete bridge located over the southern end of Tampa Bay in western Florida. It connects St. Petersburg in Pinellas County with Terra Ceia, which is near Bradenton in Manatee County. The bridge spans one of the busiest shipping lanes in the United States, given that Tampa Bay houses Port St. Pete, Port Tampa Bay, and SeaPort Manatee. The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened in Tampa Bay in 1954.
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What does the Sunshine Skyway Bridge cross over?
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge spans the southern end of Tampa Bay in western Florida. It connects St. Petersburg in Pinellas County with Terra Ceia, which is near Bradenton in Manatee County. The bridge stretches 5.5 miles (8.9 km) across one of the United States' busiest shipping lanes.
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What makes the design of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge special?
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is special for several reasons. Designed by Eugene C. Figg, Jr., and Jean Muller, it was the world's longest cable-stayed concrete bridge when it opened in 1987. Its bright yellow cables pay tribute to Florida's "Sunshine State" moniker, making it an aesthetic marvel. Stretching 5.5 miles (8.9 km) across Tampa Bay, the bridge rises 190 feet (58 meters). Safety features, like concrete islands around the piers, protect it from ship collisions. In 2005, it was renamed the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The bridge's lighting was updated in 2019 to allow decorations for holidays.
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How did the Sunsine Skyway Bridge help improve transportation in the Tampa Bay area?
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge enhances transportation in the Tampa Bay area by connecting St. Petersburg in Pinellas County with Terra Ceia in Manatee County. The original bridge, opened in 1954, was replaced after a freighter collision in 1980 caused a collapse. The new bridge, completed in 1987, has a higher vertical clearance and additional safety features, improving maritime navigation. As the longest cable-stayed concrete bridge when it opened, the Sunshine Skyway spans one of the busiest shipping lanes in the United States, facilitating recreational and commercial activities in St. Petersburg and Tampa.
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Has the Sunshine Skyway Bridge faced any important historical events or challenges?
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge has indeed faced significant historical events and challenges. On May 9, 1980, a freighter named Summit Venture collided with a support column of the southbound bridge during a thunderstorm, causing 1,200 feet (366 meters) of the span to collapse and resulting in 35 fatalities.
Instead of repairing the damaged bridge, the state decided to replace it with a new cable-stayed bridge that featured a higher vertical clearance and additional safety measures. The new Sunshine Skyway Bridge was constructed close to the original but did not utilize the existing footprint. In 2005, it was renamed the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
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Sunshine Skyway Bridge, cable-stayed concrete bridge over the southern end of Tampa Bay in western Florida that connects St. Petersburg in Pinellas county with Terra Ceia (near Bradenton) in Manatee county. Designed by Eugene C. Figg, Jr., and Jean Muller, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge was the longest cable-stayed concrete bridge in the world when it opened in 1987. Given that Tampa Bay houses Port St. Pete, Port Tampa Bay, and SeaPort Manatee, the bridge spans one of the busiest shipping lanes in the United States. An aesthetic and engineering marvel, the iconic cables of the bridge are painted bright yellow in a tribute to Florida’s moniker as the Sunshine State. In 2005 the Sunshine Skyway Bridge was renamed the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, in honor of the former Florida governor who ordered it built following a deadly disaster in 1980.
History
The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a two-lane steel cantilever bridge, opened in Tampa Bay in 1954. To accommodate more traffic, construction began on a second, parallel bridge in 1967 (opening in 1971), effectively creating a four-lane bridge. Its vertical clearance of 150 feet (46 meters) over a deep shipping channel was sufficient for most ships at that time. However, disaster occurred during a thunderstorm on May 9, 1980, when the freighter Summit Venture collided with one of the western support columns of the southbound bridge. The impact caused the collapse of 1,200 feet (366 meters) of the span, killing 35 people who had been in vehicles on the bridge.
Rather than repair the damaged bridge, the state opted to replace it with a new cable-stayed bridge with a higher vertical clearance and additional safety features. The new Sunshine Skyway Bridge was constructed close to the original but did not utilize the existing footprint. One of the major differences was the location of the new bridge’s highest span, which was built to the east of the original twin spans. This was done to give incoming ships more time to make the required turn that was critically missed by the Summit Venture.
The center spans and columns of both the intact 1954 bridge and the damaged 1971 bridge were demolished in the early 1990s, more than a decade after the accident. Other portions of the bridge were renovated as fishing piers to create the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, which opened in 1994. Some of the salvaged wreckage was placed alongside these piers to create artificial reefs for marine life.
Specifications
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge stretches 5.5 miles (8.9 km) across the bay. Rising 190 feet (58 meters), the bridge has a main prestressed-concrete span of 1,200 feet (366 meters). It employs a single plane of yellow cables from each of the two towers; the cables remain in one plane as they fan out down the center of the deck. The northbound and southbound trestles are each supported by 650 precast concrete girders. The current bridge incorporates a number of safety features to protect the structure from ship collisions, including large concrete islands, known as dolphins, around each of the bridge’s six piers.
In 2019 the bridge was outfitted with more than 1,800 LED fixtures to color the underside of the main span and the pilings for a length of 1.7 miles (2.7 km). This aesthetic lighting allows the bridge to be decorated for holidays and other observances.