Boca Grande Causeway
{{Short description|Bridge in Florida, United States of America}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name=Boca Grande Causeway
|image=New Boca Grande Swing Bridge open (2016).jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=Boca Grande Swing Bridge open for vessel traffic in 2016
|coordinates={{Coord|26.81669|-82.27364|display=inline,title}}
|official_name=Boca Grande Causeway
|carries={{jct|state=FL|CR|771|county1=Charlotte|name1=Gasparilla Road}}
|crosses=Gasparilla Sound
|locale=Charlotte County, Florida
|maint=Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority
|id=
|design=1 steel swing bridge and 2 concrete concrete girder bridges
|mainspan=
|length={{Convert|2.5|mi}}
|width=
|height=
|load=
|clearance=
|below={{Convert|22|ft}} (north swing bridge)
{{Convert|25|ft}} (center bridge)
{{Convert|16|ft}} (south bridge)
|traffic=
|begin=
|complete=
|open=1958 (original causeway and bridges)
2013-2015 (current bridges)
|closed=
|toll=$6 (island-bound traffic only)
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
}}
The Boca Grande Causeway is a causeway located in Charlotte County, Florida, connecting the community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island with the mainland near Placida. The {{Convert|2.5|mi|adj=on}} causeway crosses Gasparilla Sound and consists of three bridges, and is the only vehicular access to the island.
History
File:CH&N Railway North Bridge.jpg
The Boca Grande Causeway originally opened in 1958 after six years of construction, replacing a vehicle ferry service. The causeway and its original bridges were built parallel to the now abandoned Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway. Passenger rail service to the island was discontinued by the railroad shortly after the causeway opened. While the railroad was abandoned in 1981, the adjacent trestles remain mostly intact today and are visible from the causeway.{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Gregg M. |title=Railroads of Southwest Florida |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |series=Images of America |date=December 1, 1999}}
The Causeway was privately built, but was sold to the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority, a government agency created to oversee operation of the causeway, in 1998.{{Cite web |url=http://www.giba.us/about.php |title=About Us |publisher=Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006025945/http://www.giba.us/about.php |archive-date=October 6, 2013}} The northernmost bridge (connecting to the mainland) includes a {{Convert|213|ft|adj=on}} swing span over the navigation channel. The swing bridge, which is one of a few remaining swing bridges in Florida, is {{Convert|13|ft}} tall at its highest point. The center and south bridges are fixed span bridges, and are {{Convert|25|ft}} and {{Convert|12|ft}} tall respectively.{{Cite web |url=http://www.giba.us/bridges.php |title=Bridge Info |publisher=Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006025820/http://www.giba.us/bridges.php |archive-date=October 6, 2013}}
The current center and south bridges were completed in 2013.{{Cite news |title=South Bridge opens on 'historic Boca Grande day' |last1=O'Connor |first1=Terry |newspaper=Gasparilla Gazette |date=January 22, 2013 |url=http://www.bocagrandetalk.com/page/content.detail/id/519487/South-Bridge-opens-on--historic-Boca-Grande-day-.html?nav=5046}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.giba.us/cmsAdmin/uploads/GIBA-Construction-Progress-Update-8-23-13.pdf |title=GIBA Construction Progress Update: New Center & South Bridges |date=August 23, 2013}}{{Dead link |date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} The current swing bridge was completed and opened to traffic in late 2015. The original bridges were replaced due to their age and functional obsolescence. The current bridges are taller and also include shoulders for bicycle traffic allowing improved access for bicyclists using the popular Boca Grande Bike Path better access to the mainland and to the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail.{{cite news |last1=Strout |first1=Liza |title=GIBA board discusses causeway bike safety plans |url=http://bocabeacon.com/news/featured-news/4490-giba-board-discusses-causeway-bike-safety-plans- |access-date=17 July 2013 |newspaper=Boca Beacon|date=March 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106112218/http://bocabeacon.com/news/featured-news/4490-giba-board-discusses-causeway-bike-safety-plans- |archive-date=6 November 2013}}
Gallery
Image:Boca Grande New Swing Bridge.jpg|The north (swing) bridge
Image:Boca Causeway South Bridge.jpg|The south bridge
Image:Boca Grande center bridge.JPG|The center bridge
Image:Boca Grande Swing Bridge.jpg|The original swing bridge which operated from 1958 to 2015
Image:Gasparilla Sound.jpg|Gasparilla Sound and the defunct railroad trestle as seen from the center bridge
Image:Boca Grande swing bridges old and new.JPG|The current swing bridge with the original behind it prior to demolition
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130611032633/http://giba.us/ Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority]
- {{HAER |survey=FL-28 |id=fl0794 |title=Boca Grande Swing Bridge, Boca Grande Causeway/County Road 771, spanning Placida Harbor/Gasparilla Sound, Placida, Charlotte County, FL |photos=15 |data=33 |cap=2}}
{{Bridges of Florida}}
Category:Swing bridges in Florida
Category:Toll bridges in Florida
Category:Roads in Charlotte County, Florida
Category:Steel bridges in the United States
Category:Concrete bridges in the United States
Category:Girder bridges in the United States
Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Florida
Category:Road bridges in Florida
Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Charlotte County, Florida