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*The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge is featured in the [[Old-Time Radio|old-time radio]] series "[[Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar]]" in the episode "The Fancy Bridgework Matter" (11/22/1959).
*The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge is featured in the [[Old-Time Radio|old-time radio]] series "[[Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar]]" in the episode "The Fancy Bridgework Matter" (11/22/1959).



hahahaha


==Gallery==
==Gallery==

Revision as of 00:55, 2 August 2007

Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Coordinates27°37′30″N 82°39′31″W / 27.625°N 82.6586°W / 27.625; -82.6586
Carries4 general purpose lanes (I-275 and US 19)
CrossesTampa Bay
Localesouth of St. Petersburg and north of Palmetto, Florida
Official nameThe Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Maintained byFlorida Department of Transportation
ID number150189
Characteristics
Designcontinuous pre-stressed concrete cable-stayed bridge
Total length8851.392 meters (5.5 miles)
Width28.7 meters (94 feet)
Longest span365.8 meters (1200 feet)
Clearance above58.8 meters (193 feet)
Clearance below53.3 meters (175 feet)
History
OpenedApril 20, 1987
Statistics
Toll$1 for passenger cars or $0.75 with SunPass

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, spanning Florida's Tampa Bay, is the world's longest bridge with a cable-stayed main span, with a length of 29,040 feet (exactly 5.5 miles or approximately 8.85 km).[1] It is part of I-275 (SR 93) and US 19 (SR 55), connecting St. Petersburg in Pinellas County and Palmetto in Manatee County, Florida, passing through Hillsborough County waters. Construction of the current bridge began in 1982, and the completed bridge was dedicated on February 7, 1987. The new bridge cost $244 million to build, and was opened to traffic on April 20, 1987.

It is constructed of steel and concrete. Twenty-one steel cables clad in nine-inch steel tubes along the center line of the bridge support the structure. It was designed by the Figg & Muller Engineering Group, and built by the American Bridge Company.

In November 2005, an act of Florida Legislature officially named the current bridge the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, after the Governor of Florida who presided over its design and most of its construction. According to sources, he was inspired to suggest the current design by a visit to France, where he saw a similar cable-stayed bridge. The original bridge was dedicated to state engineer William E Dean, as noted on a plaque displayed at the south rest area of the bridge.

The Travel Channel rated the Sunshine Skyway #3 in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World. The bridge is considered the "flag bridge" of Florida.[2]

One of the major problems with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is corrosion of the steel in the precast concrete segments. Because the segments are hollow, workers were able to enter the bridge superstructure in 2003 and 2004 to reinforce the corroded sections of the bridge, ensuring its future safety.[2] Another problem arose around 2005/2006 when several news bureaus uncovered peeling paint on the bridge's cables. These paint splotches and patches were a result of touch-ups that were performed over the years but began to show through over recent years. FDOT is currently performing an overhaul which will include repainting the cables in their entirety (instead of touching up), rehabilitating the lighting system at the summit of the bridge, as well as repainting the concrete retaining walls [1]

Bridge disaster

The present bridge replaces a steel cantilever bridge of the same name. The original two-lane bridge was completed in 1954, with a similar structure built parallel to it in 1969 to make it a four-lane bridge and bring it to Interstate standards. The southbound span (the one built in 1969) was destroyed on May 9, 1980, when the freighter SS Summit Venture collided with a pier (support column) during a storm, sending over 1200 feet (366m) of the bridge plummeting into Tampa Bay. The collision caused six automobiles and a Greyhound bus to fall 150 feet (46 m), killing 35 people.[3][4]

One man, Wesley MacIntire, survived the fall when his pickup truck landed on the deck of the Summit Venture before falling into the bay. He sued the company that owned the ship, and settled for $175,000 in 1984.[5] He always regretted being the only one to survive the fall, and died in 1989.

Richard Hornbuckle's Buick Apollo sits on the edge of the abyss on May 9, 1980 after the Summit Venture collided with the bridge in foul weather. Photo by St. Petersburg Times.

The pilot of the ship, John Lerro, was cleared of wrongdoing by both a state grand jury and a Coast Guard investigation. Although Lerro resumed his shipping duties soon afterward, he was forced to retire months later by the onset of multiple sclerosis,[6] from which he died in 2002.[7]

The old bridge replaced a ferry from Point Pinellas to Piney Point. US 19 was extended from St. Petersburg to its current end north of Palmetto when the bridge opened. After the Summit Venture disaster, the northbound span carried one lane in either direction until the current bridge opened. The main span of the northbound bridge was demolished in 1993 and the approaches for both old spans were made into the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park. These approaches sit 1/2 mile (0.8 km) to the south and west of the current bridge.

Graham's idea for the design of the current bridge won out over other proposals, including a tunnel (deemed impractical due to Florida's high water table) and a simple reconstruction of the broken section of the old bridge that would not have improved shipping conditions. The new bridge's main span is 50% wider than the old bridge. The piers of the main span and the approaches for 1/4 mile (0.4 km) in either direction are surrounded by large concrete barriers called "dolphins" that can protect the bridge piers from collisions with freighters larger than the Summit Venture.[8]

Bridge suicides

According to compilations from various media reports, at least 96 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 many more have tried.[citation needed] Another 51 people ended their lives from the old Sunshine Skyway from 1954-1987. Several other missing persons are suspected of having jumped from the bridge, but their deaths could not be confirmed as no body was recovered.

In response to the bridge's popularity as method of demise for the depressed, the State of Florida installed six crisis hotline phones along the center span in 1999, and began 24-hour patrols. As of 2003, the call center received 18 calls from potential jumpers, all of whom survived, according to a St. Petersburg Times report.[9] However, the total number of jumpers has not significantly declined since the introduction of these safeguards.

On April 27, 1997 a group of daredevils did a "pendulum swing" off the bridge, where they were to go back and forth on a steel cable attached to the cast-off point, eventually ending up directly below where they had started. This failed when the plastic sheathing on the steel cable allowed the connecting clamps to slide freely off the cable, plunging them 60 meters into the water, leading to broken bones and neck injuries.[10] In 2006 a feature film entitled Loren Cass was released which depicted a suicide jump off the Sunshine Skyway.[11]

Trivia

  • In the last scene of the crime film The Punisher, the hero of the movie stands on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The movie was set in the Tampa Bay area.
  • The original opening credits to the 1988 Superboy TV series showed the hero flying over the damaged span and then turning to view the new bridge under construction.
  • the dedication plaque of the new Skyway
    the dedication plaque of the new Skyway
  • The bridge at twilight
    The bridge at twilight
  • View of bridge from Fort De Soto Park's East Beach
    View of bridge from Fort De Soto Park's East Beach
  • Sunshine Skyway Bridge from South Pier rest area
    Sunshine Skyway Bridge from South Pier rest area
  • Driving on the bridge, near the peak
    Driving on the bridge, near the peak
  • View of bridge heading south
    View of bridge heading south
  • As seen from the water of Tampa Bay
    As seen from the water of Tampa Bay

References

  1. ^ "Sunshine Skyway Bridge". Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  2. ^ a b Garcia, Jose. "The Skyway Bridge - Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow" (PDF). Florida Department of Transportaiton. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  3. ^ "A blinding squall, then death". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  4. ^ Jean Heller (2000-05-07). "The Day Skyway Fell: May 9, 1980". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  5. ^ "Suit in Bridge Fall Settlement". New York Times Archives. May 6, 1984. Retrieved 2007-02-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Jean Heller (2000-05-07). "Memories stay with man at command of the ship". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  7. ^ Brink, Graham (September 3, 2002). "Pilot in Skyway disaster is dead". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-02-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Building big: Databank: Sunshine Skyway Bridge". PBS Online. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  9. ^ Jones, Jamie (October 6, 2003). "Skyway safeguards don't deter jumpers". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-02-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ O'Neil, Deborah (April 28, 1997). "Four hurt in Skyway stunt". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Wilson, Jon (October 11, 2006). "Movie will have its first local viewing". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-05-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

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