Tallest Bridge in Florida - The Sunshine Skyway Bridge - Tampa Bay - 4K - Drive - 275 North

9 months ago
182

#sunshine #skyway #bridge #tampa #tampabay

The iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida, driving north to St Petersburg on the 275.

Please Subscribe to our channel 📺✈️🌴🚗

Wanna buy us a ☕️? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/onderweg

Tampa related: books, guides, gear: https://amzn.to/3BQheZW
Recorded with GoPro: https://amzn.to/3RPFd0H
GoPro mount: https://amzn.to/3DtUS1n
GoPro memory card: https://amzn.to/3LmtNPU
GoPro accessory kit: https://amzn.to/3eVZcfN

Wikipedia:
The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, often referred to as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge or the Sunshine Skyway, consists of a pair of long beam bridges with a central cable-stayed bridge that spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect St. Petersburg, Florida to Terra Ceia. The current Sunshine Skyway opened in 1987 and is the second bridge of that name on the site. It was designed by the Figg & Muller Engineering Group and built by the American Bridge Company. The bridge is considered the flagship bridge of Florida and serves as a gateway to Tampa Bay. The four-lane bridge carries Interstate 275 and U.S. Route 19, passing through Pinellas County, Hillsborough County and Manatee County. It is a toll road, with a $1.50 toll assessed on two-axle vehicles traveling in either direction and collected via cash or the state's SunPass system.

The original Sunshine Skyway was a two-lane beam bridge with a central truss bridge built directly to the west of the current structure. It was completed in 1954, and a second span was added in 1971.

The original Skyway was the site of two major maritime disasters over a four-month period, the second of which resulted in the bridge's partial destruction and eventual replacement. On the night of January 28, 1980, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn collided with the tanker Capricorn just west of the bridge, resulting in the sinking of the cutter with the loss of 23 crew members in the worst peacetime disaster in the history of the US Coast Guard. On the morning of May 9, 1980, the freighter MV Summit Venture collided with a support pier near the center of the bridge during a sudden squall, resulting in the catastrophic failure of the southbound roadway and the deaths of 35 people when several vehicles (including a Greyhound Bus) plunged into Tampa Bay.[14] Within a few years, the damaged span was partially demolished, the surviving span was partially demolished and converted into a long fishing pier, and the modern Sunshine Skyway was built. The current bridge incorporates numerous safety features designed to protect the structure from ship collisions, as it spans one of the busiest shipping lanes in the United States.

Loading comments...