The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Fri. Jan. 22, 2010

I was hoping that the trip back on The Sunshine Skyway Bridge
would offer a better photo opportunity than the trip up that
morning in the battering rain that yielded only this:

It was considerably better – FINALLY!

However, these pics still don’t give you the full majesty of this
engineering marvel. For that, I visited The Sunshine Skyway
Bridge website …

http://www.interstate275florida.com/images/ssb/Perspective/10.
JPG

… where I found this photo:

If you want history on the project:
http://www.interstate275florida.com/ssb.htm

If you’d rather not click on the link, then here’s the copy:

Introduction
“Opened to traffic in 1987, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a
cable stayed bridge with a vertical clearance of 191 feet above
the 1,200-foot wide shipping channel over Tampa Bay. The
sight is beautiful and majestic as you cross depending on the
time of day. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a popular tourist
attraction as well as a favorite among St. Petersburg residents
and visitors year in and year out. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge
carries not only Interstate 275, but it multiplexes with US 19
from Exit 17 (54 Av S) to Exit 5 (US 19 South).
“(The) Toll to drive across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is $1.00
for passenger cars, and can be paid with cash or SunPass (an
electronic toll collection device that makes driving on toll roads
and bridges in Florida more convenient).

“The Sunshine Skyway Bridge has a colorful history from its

heydays as a single two-lane cantilever span in 1954 to the
present four-lane cable-stayed span. In triumph and tragedy,
the present cable-stayed and the former cantilever spans of the
Sunshine Skyway Bridge are an icon of the Tampa Bay area.

The beginning of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge: The 1954

cantilever span
“I wrote a term paper about the Sunshine Skyway Bridge back
when I was in high school during my senior year. The need for
a lower Tampa Bay crossing can be traced back to the 1920’s
when a suspension bridge was proposed. However, it met
opposition from shipping interests in Tampa, who wanted a
tunnel instead. All ideas of a bridge or tunnel had to be put on
the shelf when World War II broke out.

“After World War II the idea of a bridge was resurfaced. The

need for a bridge was justified due to the traffic using the Bee
Line Ferry as it was the only way to get to Bradenton and points
south without having to make the long drive through Tampa.

“The makeup of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge would be a

system of bridges and dredged causeways crossing lower
Tampa Bay. Each structure would be identified by a letter, with
Structure A being the drawbridge crossing the Intracoastal
Waterway and Structures B, D and E being small fixed span
bridges. The main span would be Structure C, which would
carry the majestic cantilever through truss section as it crosses
the shipping channel in Tampa Bay.

“Construction began on the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge in

1950 and it was completed in 1954 with a gala grand opening
ceremony on Labor Day weekend of that year. The original
bridge was a cantilever through-truss with a vertical clearance
of 150 feet and a shipping channel clearance of 864 feet, which
was adequate for ships of that era. One can admire the
architecture of the major support piers on either side of the
shipping channel as well as the three other support piers on the
deck truss section of the bridge. The only thing that gives
anyone the jitters is the steel grid deck as one crosses the
shipping channel and the humming sound it makes as one
drives across.

“For those that don't know the experience of driving across a

steel grid deck bridge, it's basically the same as if you were
driving across a drawbridge, only it's longer. Speaking of
drawbridges, the first bridge as you leave St. Petersburg going
south was a drawbridge.

“Within a few months of the Sunshine Skyway's opening of the

original 1954 span it became popular with residents and visitors
alike. Gone were the days of having to make the roundabout
drive through Tampa or having to take the Bee Line Ferry in
order to reach Bradenton, Sarasota and points beyond.

The 1971 cantilever span: From blueprint to disaster

“Within a few years traffic increased so much that it justified a
second span to accommodate southbound traffic. Plans were
prepared for construction of a second cantilever span utilizing
the same plans as the Sunshine Skyway's 1954 counterpart.

“Construction on the southbound span began in 1967 but it was

not finished until 1971 due to settling of a major pier requiring
major repair. It was believed that the pilings driven into the bay
bottom to support the pier were of concrete as opposed to steel
and were not driven deep enough to the limestone below.
“Repairs to the south channel pier were accomplished by
driving steel pilings to the limestone and bracing the support
pier to make the bridge safe for travel.

“Except for the major south channel pier, all the other piers
were designed and built identical to their 1954 counterparts. I
have drawn a comparison of the major support piers so that you
can notice the difference.

“The 1971 span when opened carried southbound traffic and it

meant the difference; the 1954 span was converted to
accommodate northbound traffic. The 1971 southbound span
of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge served its purpose for nine
years until a stormy May morning in 1980 which will be forever
etched in Tampa Bay area history.

“On 9 May 1980 at 7:38 AM the Summit Venture, under the

command of harbor pilot John Lerro, struck the southbound
span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in a blinding rainstorm,
toppling much of the southbound span into Tampa Bay and
costing 35 lives including several aboard a Greyhound bus
destined for Miami. There were two survivors, Wesley McIntire
who went off the damaged end and swam to safety (the crew of
the Summit Venture threw a lifeline and pulled Wesley McIntire
aboard) and Richard Hornbuckle who stopped his Buick
Skylark a mere 14 inches from plummeting into the churning
waters of Tampa Bay 150 feet below.

“After the Skyway disaster there was a choice that had to be

made: Repair or replace? One side wanted the bridge repaired
while the other side wanted a whole new bridge. After all, two
way traffic was once again being maintained on the 1954 span.
A decision was made to replace the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
with a cable-stayed bridge modeled after a bridge in France.

The 1987 cable-stayed span: A much better improvement

than its cantilever counterparts
“As Interstate 275 was being built through St. Petersburg, the
need for a Sunshine Skyway Bridge that is up to interstate
standards was more obvious. Shortly after the 1980 Sunshine
Skyway disaster there was talk briefly of not including Interstate
275 with the Sunshine Skyway, but the need was greatly
justified, especially with the construction of the replacement
cable-stayed bridge. Both the 1954 and 1971 cantilever spans
did not meet interstate standards.

“Work begun on replacing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1984

and it was completed with a lot of fanfare with a dedication
ceremony in February 1987 and the grand opening in April
1987. Two years later in 1989 the roads leading up to the
Sunshine Skyway were brought up to interstate standards,
including the construction of overpasses at the north and south
rest areas to better facilitate access. In 1994 the drawbridges
were replaced by high level fixed span bridges similar to the
Howard Frankland Bridge thereby correcting a potential traffic
bottleneck when the drawbridges were up.

“The old Sunshine Skyway Bridge was demolished in 1991 and

the resulting ends were converted into fishing piers. Today all
that remains of the 1954 and 1971 bridges are that of the
fishing piers that were created. Once the new span was
opened the 1954 and 1971 spans including their main channel
support piers were a navigation hazard necessitating their
demolition.

“In November 2005 the Sunshine Skyway was renamed the

Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge in honor of the former
Florida governor who I believe made the right decision to
replace the 1954 and 1971 cantilever spans with a new cable
stayed bridge, modeled after a similar bridge in France. After
the old southbound (1971) span of the Sunshine Skyway
collapsed on 9 May 1980 Pinellas and Manatee interests
wanted the old cantilever bridge rebuilt as soon as possible
while Hillsborough interests wanted a tunnel; the decision to
replace the old bridges with the new cable stayed bridge
pleased both interests.”