Sunshine Skyway Bridge#Bridge disaster

In 1924, J.G. "Jim" Foley, a realtor, and his partner Charles R. Carter joined with James E. Bussey, an attorney, to create the Bee Line Ferry Company. The service started on March 7, 1927, and originally had two ferries: Fred D. Doty and the City of Wilmington (which was later renamed Pinellas). The ferry crossed from the end of Bay Vista Park in St. Petersburg and went to Piney Point on the other side of the bay.{{Cite news |last=Michaels |first=Will |date=May 24, 2019 |title=The Bee Line Ferry |work=Northeast Journal |url=https://northeastjournal.org/the-bee-line-ferry/ |access-date=September 29, 2021 |archive-date=September 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929160227/https://northeastjournal.org/the-bee-line-ferry/ |url-status=live}}

A physiotherapist from St. Petersburg named Herman Simmonds proposed building a "high-level suspension bridge" in 1926.{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Jon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aB2CQAAQBAJ |title=The Golden Era in St. Petersburg: Postwar Prosperity in The Sunshine City |publisher=History Press |year=2013 |chapter=A Bridge, A Road, A Plaza |isbn=9781614238928 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416021126/https://books.google.com/books?id=2aB2CQAAQBAJ |url-status=live}} Sometime during 1927, Simmonds received congressional approval and a permit from the US War Department to build a bridge, but efforts were put on hold due to the Great Depression.{{Cite book |last1=Sitler |first1=Nevin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bKN_CQAAQBAJ&dq=Freeman+Horton+skyway&pg=PT43 |title=The Sunshine Skyway Bridge: Spanning Tampa Bay |last2=Sitler |first2=Richard |publisher=History Press |year=2013 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |chapter=Bridging the Gap |isbn=9781625840721 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416021124/https://books.google.com/books?id=bKN_CQAAQBAJ&dq=Freeman+Horton+skyway&pg=PT43 |url-status=live}}

In 1929, the Florida Legislature gave the Bee Line Ferry a 50-year franchise to operate a service between Pinellas and Manatee Counties.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Harold |date=1945 |title=Ferry Arriving at Piney Point, Connecting Bradenton and St. Petersburg |url=https://mymanatee.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/323/rec/1 |url-status=live |access-date=January 17, 2021 |website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection |type=Postcard |format=TIFF |archive-date=January 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118182841/https://mymanatee.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/323/rec/1}} The service gradually expanded during the 1930s, and by the end of the decade, Bee Line operated four boats which departed every 30 minutes in the winter and every 45 minutes in the summer during daylight hours, weather permitting. During its last full year of operation in 1941, Bee Line carried almost 100,000 vehicles and thousands of passengers.{{cite web |last1=Hunsicker |first1=Charlie |last2=Horton |first2=Allan |title=The Road Not Taken: The History of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge |url=https://pinellas.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/HistoryofSunshineSkyway.pdf |website=Pinellas County Water Atlas |publisher=Pinellas County / Florida Department of Transportation |access-date=August 22, 2024 }} However, ferries stopped running in 1942 when many employees were called to serve and the boats were converted to military use as part of the World War II war effort. In 1944, the St. Petersburg Port Authority bought the franchise from Bee Lee and resumed ferry service, albeit on a smaller scale until the end of the war. Regular ferry service would continue until the Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened a decade later.

During the same period, there were several preliminary proposals to build a tunnel or a series of bridges across the mouth of Tampa Bay. In 1929, a bill was introduced in the Florida legislature to build a tunnel crossing lower Tampa Bay running from Pinellas Point to Piney Point, with the tunnel itself being buried {{cvt|40|ft|m}} under the bay and going for a length of {{cvt|1,000|ft|m}}. This proposal did not get past the early planning stages, as construction costs would be high, and unspecified "Tampa officials" argued that construction of any bridge or tunnel would present a navigational hazard.{{Cite book |last1=Sitler |first1=Nevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bKN_CQAAQBAJ |title=The Sunshine Skyway Bridge: Spanning Tampa Bay |last2=Sitler |first2=Richard |publisher=History Press |date=February 2013 |isbn=9781625840721 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416021127/https://books.google.com/books?id=bKN_CQAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}

Another proposal soon originated from Louis E. Saupe, head of the West Coast Bridge and Tunnel Company. This consisted of a series of short causeways running from Maximo Point to Mullet Key on the Pinellas Country side, a tunnel running for less than {{convert|1/2|mile}} beneath the shipping lane near the mouth of the bay, and another causeway running to Terra Ceia on the Manatee County side. State officials preliminarily approved the project in 1939 and the state legislature agreed to fund it. However, the project designed crossed through a portion of Hillsborough County near the mouth of Tampa Bay. Since the county was not mentioned in legislation, the bill was declared unconstitutional and the project stalled.{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Jon |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=etd |title=Shaping the Dream: A Survey of Post-World War II St. Petersburg, 1946–1963 |publisher=University of South Florida Scholar Commons |year=2009 |pages=32–33 |type=Thesis |access-date=September 30, 2021 |archive-date=September 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930135901/https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=etd |url-status=live}}

Bail, Horton, and Associates, along with Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hogan & Macdonald received a contract from the port authority on December 20, 1944, to design the bridge. Both firms released a report in November 1945 about the bridge.{{Cite web |last1=Hunsicker |first1=Charlie |last2=Horton |first2=Allan |title=The Road Not Taken: The History of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge |url=https://manatee.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/HistoryofSunshineSkyway.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2021 |website=Manatee County wateratlas |archive-date=September 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928223103/https://manatee.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/HistoryofSunshineSkyway.pdf}} Freeman Horton of Bail, Horton and Associates proposed Snead Island as its southern terminus and 10th Street in Palmetto as the thoroughfare.{{Cite book |last=Favorite |first=Merab-Michal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9si_jdPk0Z0C&q=SKYWAY |title=Palmetto |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2012 |pages=44 |isbn=9780738591049 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416021124/https://books.google.com/books?id=9si_jdPk0Z0C&q=SKYWAY |url-status=live}} Bail, Horton, and Associates was awarded the contract but as it was unable to get $10 million in revenue bonds, the state government halted the project sometime during the late 1940s. The design competition was reactivated again in the early 1950s with Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hogan & Macdonald getting the contract this time and they ended up serving as the engineers for construction and design. The partner-in-charge for Brinckerhoff was M. N. Quade. The successful attempt for building the bridge came after the Florida State Improvement Commission was approached with a proposal that they finance it while the State Road Department (SRD) built it. The Florida's State Improvement Commission proceeded to at some point take over the St. Petersburg Port Authority's assets which included $520,000 seen with bonded indebtedness. A $21,250,000 bond issue was passed by the Improvement Commission and sales started after the Port Authority's assets were acquired.{{Cite journal |last1=Fiore |first1=M. |last2=Hakman |first2=P. |date=September–October 1955 |title=Sunshine Skyway Construction |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44570487 |journal=The Military Engineer |publisher=Society of American Military Engineers |volume=47 |issue=319 |pages=354 |jstor=44570487 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003163344/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44570487 |url-status=live}}

On July 4, 1950, a day-long "Spans Across the Bay" festival was held in St. Petersburg to celebrate the approval of the long-awaited bridge and to announce its name. The St. Pete Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Florida State Road Department had conducted a nationwide contest to name the structure, with the rules dictating that it should not be named after a specific person or geographic place.{{Cite news |last=Calise |first=Gabrielle |date=September 6, 2019 |title=The first Skyway bridge opened 66 years ago. It was a triumph. Then came the tragedy. |work=Tampa Bay Times |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2019/09/06/the-first-skyway-bridge-opened-65-years-ago-today-it-was-a-triumph-then-came-the-tragedy/ |access-date=October 9, 2021 |archive-date=October 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009013358/https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2019/09/06/the-first-skyway-bridge-opened-65-years-ago-today-it-was-a-triumph-then-came-the-tragedy/ |url-status=live}} Over 20,000 entries were submitted, and at the celebration on the Fourth of July, Virginia Seymore of nearby Indian Rocks Beach was announced as the winner for her submission of "Sunshine Skyway".

Construction bids began to be accepted in July 1950 and construction started on October 19, 1950 with 544 workers. It was built by the Virginia Bridge Company{{Cite web |last=Hartman Litho Sales Co. |title=Moonlight Over Sunshine Skyway Bridge |url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/950/rec/7 |access-date=October 28, 2022 |website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection |type=Postcard |archive-date=October 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028010935/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/950/rec/7 |url-status=live}} and another firm that was involved doing engineering work was Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall and McDonald.{{Cite web |date=1950–1954 |title=Engineering personnel for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Construction |url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/4919/rec/1 |access-date=October 28, 2022 |website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection |type=Photograph |format=JPEG |archive-date=October 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028010932/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/4919/rec/1 |url-status=live}} Staging areas for the construction of the bridge were established at both crossing sites. An entire concrete factory was established near Piney Point while prefabricated concrete parts were delivered via barge from a site in Tampa where they were made. {{Convert |4100000 |cuyd}} of material was dredged as part of building the causeways for the bridge. To physically build the bridge, {{cvt|12,104,000|lb|t}} of structural steel, {{cvt|8,536,700|lb|t|0}} of rebar and {{Convert |115980 |cuyd}} of concrete were used.

File:"Moonlight Over Lower Tampa Bay Showing Main Ship Channel Bridge of Sunshine Skyway, Florida" (11856060356).jpg

The original two-lane bridge opened to traffic on September 6, 1954.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zt4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72 |title=Tampa Bay Crossing Spans 14 Miles of Tidewater |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=August 1954 |pages=72–73 |publisher=Hearst Magazines |via=Google Books}}{{cite news |date=September 7, 1954 |title=Thousands cross Sunshine Skyway Span |page=1 |newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S5kcAAAAIBAJ&pg=4161%2C1128738 |via=Google News Archive |access-date=October 9, 2020 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025044535/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S5kcAAAAIBAJ&pg=4161%2C1128738 |url-status=live}} At the time of the bridge's opening it was among the longest bridges on Earth and it was the longest continuous bridge in the United States. Notable participants in opening ceremonies that day were: US senator and former governor Spessard Holland, former governors Charley E. Johns and Fuller Warren along with James Melton and General James Van Fleet. Delegations from ten Florida counties participated that day.{{Cite web |date=September 6, 1954 |title=Ribbon Cutting at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Opening Ceremonies |url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/4941/rec/4 |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2021 |website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection |type=JPEG |format=Photograph |archive-date=September 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928210956/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/4941/rec/4}} On the day the original bridge opened, it was toll free from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. A reported 15,086 cars crossed the bridge starting at 11:40 a.m. when opening ceremonies ended and 11 p.m. when the toll-free time ended.{{Cite news |date=September 7, 1954 |title=Spanned By 15,000 Ccars |page=1 |work=Sarasota-Herald Tribune |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S5kcAAAAIBAJ&pg=4161%2C1128738 |access-date=January 30, 2022 |via=Google News Archive |archive-date=April 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428110315/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S5kcAAAAIBAJ&pg=4161%2C1128738 |url-status=live}}

The bridge's central span was {{cvt|22,373|ft|m}} long with a {{cvt|864|ft|m}} opening for a ship channel. It consisted of 32 concrete piers set every {{cvt|135|ft|m}} with the exception of the ship channel and the bridge went upwards at a 5% grade. Two lanes were used for it with no passing allowed. The original maximum speed limit was {{cvt|45|mph|km/h}} and the minimum was {{cvt|35|mph|km/h}}. The lack of illumination made the bridge dark at night. The bridge was not easily accessible, however, and drivers often had to take detours to reach it. U.S. Route 19's final segment, which ended at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, opened on July 19, 1955.

In 1969, a second two-lane span was built beside the original to ease traffic and bring the bridge up to Interstate Highway standards. On 31 August 1970, the bridge was struck by the Liberty ship {{SS|Jacob S. Mansfield||2}}, which was being towed from Mobile, Alabama to shipbreakers in Tampa, Florida.{{cite book |title=The Liberty Ships |first1=L. A. |last1=Sawyer |first2=W. H. |last2=Mitchell |publisher=Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. |location=London |year=1985 |edition=2nd |isbn=1-85044-049-2 |page=71 }} Opening of the newer span was delayed until 1971 for reinforcing of the south main pier, which had cracked due to insufficient supporting pile depth.{{Cite web |url=http://interstate275florida.blogspot.com/2009/07/old-sunshine-skyway-bridge.html |title=The Interstate 275 Florida Blog: The Old Sunshine Skyway Bridge |date=July 29, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2010 |archive-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228100733/http://interstate275florida.blogspot.com/2009/07/old-sunshine-skyway-bridge.html |url-status=live}}{{sps|certain=y|date=May 2016}} It was dedicated on May 19, 1971.{{Cite web |date=May 19, 1971 |title=Dedication of the Second span of the Sunshine Skyway |url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/8207/rec/1 |url-status=live |access-date=October 11, 2021 |website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection |type=Photograph |format=JPEG |archive-date=October 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024172638/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/8207/rec/1}} Both Governor Reubin Askew and the mayor of Bradenton, B.T. Arbuckle, attended the second span's dedication.{{Cite web |date=May 19, 1971 |title=Governor Reuben O Askew at the Dedication of the Second span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge |url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/8211/rec/3 |url-status=live |access-date=October 11, 2021 |website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection |type=Photograph |format=JPEG |archive-date=October 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024172638/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/8211/rec/3}} The second span was used for all southbound traffic, while the original span was converted to carry only northbound traffic.

File:Skywayaccident.jpg

File:MV Summit Venture Mayday Call.flac

The southbound span (opened in 1971) of the original bridge was destroyed on the morning of May 9, 1980, when the {{cvt|606|ft|m|adj=on}} freighter MV Summit Venture collided with a support column during a sudden squall, causing the catastrophic failure of over {{cvt|1200|ft|m}} of the span.

Several vehicles were at the top of the bridge when almost a quarter-mile of roadway fell away beneath them while others drove off the edge, either because the drivers did not notice the collapse in the driving rain or could not stop quickly enough in the wet conditions.{{cite news |title=A Blinding Squall, then Death |work=St. Petersburg Times |url=http://www2.sptimes.com/Weather/SW.2.html |access-date=February 1, 2007 |archive-date=February 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224072620/http://www2.sptimes.com/weather/SW.2.html |url-status=dead}} In all, six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound bus plummeted {{cvt|150|ft|m}} into Tampa Bay, resulting in 35 deaths.{{cite news |title=The Day Skyway Fell: May 9, 1980 |work=St. Petersburg Times |first=Jean |last=Heller |date=May 7, 2000 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/050700/TampaBay/Horrific_accident_cre.shtml |access-date=July 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323234456/http://www.sptimes.com/News/050700/TampaBay/Horrific_accident_cre.shtml |archive-date=March 23, 2018 |url-status=dead}} A few drivers, including former Major League Baseball player Granny Hamner, were able to stop their vehicles before reaching the gap, and as seen in many photographs of the aftermath, a Buick Skylark driven by local car dealer Richard Hornbuckle skidded to a halt just two feet from the chasm.{{cite news |last1=Conlin |first1=Bill |title=A Date with Fate Hamner Once Survived Collapse of Bridge over Troubled Waters |url=https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P2-32827664/a-date-with-fate-hamner-once-survived-collapse-of |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=15 September 1993 |archive-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214004100/https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P2-32827664/a-date-with-fate-hamner-once-survived-collapse-of |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Roy Peter |title=The taking of tolls and a final saga from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster |url=https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2021/07/08/the-taking-of-tolls-and-a-final-saga-from-the-sunshine-skyway-bridge-disaster-column/ |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=July 8, 2021 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Kaiman |first1=Kane |title=Skyway memories rise to surface |url=https://www.islander.org/2019/05/the-day-the-skyway-fell/ |access-date=June 26, 2022 |work=The Islander |date=April 26, 2021}}

In the water below, several small official and private boats and a transportation department diving team arrived soon after the intense but narrow squall line cleared the vicinity. However, the frantic rescue effort became a recovery operation, as only victims' bodies were found.{{cite news |last1=Calise |first1=Gabrielle |title=40 years after Skyway disaster, divers can't forget what they saw underwater |url=https://www.tampabay.com/narratives/2020/05/06/40-years-after-the-skyway-bridge-disaster-divers-cant-forget-what-they-saw-underwater/ |access-date=August 9, 2023 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=May 6, 2020 |language=en}} The only survivor of the fall was Wesley MacIntire, whose Ford Courier pickup truck had bounced off the hull of the Summit Venture and into the water. The truck sank to the shallow bottom of the bay, but MacIntire managed to escape and swim to the surface, where he was quickly pulled to safety aboard the freighter.{{cite news |title=The Skyway Bridge tragedy at 40: The survivor |work=St. Pete Catalyst |date=May 8, 2020 |url=https://stpetecatalyst.com/the-skyway-tragedy-at-40-the-survivor/ |access-date=August 11, 2020 |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813082939/https://stpetecatalyst.com/the-skyway-tragedy-at-40-the-survivor/ |url-status=live}} He sued the company that owned the ship and won a $175,000 settlement in 1984 (${{Inflation|US|175000|1984|r=-3|fmt=c}} today).{{cite news |title=Suit in Bridge Fall Settlement |work=The New York Times |date=May 6, 1984 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E0DE1138F935A35756C0A962948260 |access-date=February 1, 2007 |archive-date=March 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311013112/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E0DE1138F935A35756C0A962948260 |url-status=live}}

John Lerro, the veteran harbor pilot who was steering the ship at the time of the accident, was cleared of wrongdoing by both a state grand jury and a Coast Guard investigation. The investigations concluded that the inbound freighter had been in the process of maneuvering into the narrow channel under the center of the bridge when a microburst containing sudden torrential rains and {{cvt|70|mph}} winds cut visibility to near zero and temporarily rendered the ship's radar useless.{{cite news |title=Memories Stay with Man at Command of the Ship |work=St. Petersburg Times |first=Jean |last=Heller |date=May 7, 2000 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/050700/TampaBay/Memories_stay_with_ma.shtml |access-date=July 4, 2007 |archive-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211181331/http://www.sptimes.com/News/050700/TampaBay/Memories_stay_with_ma.shtml |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Myrna |title=John Lerro, 59; Harbor Pilot Haunted by Role in Deadly Bridge Accident |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-09-me-lerro9-story.html |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 September 2002 |archive-date=October 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014075453/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/sep/09/local/me-lerro9 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Thalji |first1=Jamal |title=The Sunshine Skyway Bridge plunged into Tampa Bay 38 years ago |url=https://www.tampabay.com/photos/2018/05/09/the-sunshine-skyway-bridge-plunged-into-tampa-bay-38-years-ago/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=May 8, 2018 |archive-date=February 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213184951/http://www.tampabay.com/photos/2018/05/09/the-sunshine-skyway-bridge-plunged-into-tampa-bay-38-years-ago/ |url-status=live}} Lerro put the ship's engines into full reverse and ordered the emergency dropping of the anchor when he realized that the freighter had left the channel, but the forward momentum of the 20,000-ton ship along with strong winds from astern pushed the bow into support beams to the right of the shipping lane.{{cite news |last1=Sussingham |first1=Robin |title=Remembering the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Collapse |url=http://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/remembering-sunshine-skyway-bridge-collapse |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu |issue=May 8, 2015 |publisher=WUSF-FM |language=en |archive-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214002929/http://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/remembering-sunshine-skyway-bridge-collapse |url-status=live}} While the main support pier nearest to the channel withstood the strike with only minor damage, a secondary support pier just to the south was not designed to withstand such an impact and failed catastrophically, causing the entire center of the southbound span to collapse at 7:38 a.m.

File:Skyway Bridge old and new.jpg. The collapsed bridge is under demolition.]]

Soon after the disaster, the undamaged northbound span was converted back to a two-lane, two-way bridge while the state of Florida considered proposals for a replacement. Ideas included the construction of a tunnel (which was deemed impractical due to Florida's high water table) and a simple reconstruction of the broken section of the old bridge, which would not widen the narrow shipping lane. Governor Bob Graham's idea to build a "signature" cable-stayed bridge with a span that would be 50% wider than that of the old Skyway Bridge won out over other proposals. In addition to a wider shipping lane, the channel would be marked by a {{cvt|1/4|mi|m}}-long series of large concrete barriers, and the support piers would be protected by massive concrete "dolphins".{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/sunshine_skyway.html |title=Building big: Databank: Sunshine Skyway Bridge |access-date=July 4, 2007 |publisher=PBS Online |archive-date=July 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701225635/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/sunshine_skyway.html |url-status=live}}

Construction began in January 1983 with the pounding of pilings for the foundation, and work on the main piers began the following September. The complicated project was delayed several times by bad weather and various difficulties in construction, and the planned opening was pushed back several times.{{Cite news |date=April 30, 1987 |title=Manatee-Pinellas Link Has 33-Year, Often Tragic History |page=6 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19870430&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=February 9, 2022 |via=Google News Archive |archive-date=February 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209165002/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19870430&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=April 30, 1987 |title=New Bridge Opens Today |page=6 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19870430&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=February 9, 2022 |via=Google News Archive |archive-date=February 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209165002/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19870430&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live}} Finally, the opening ceremony was set for April 30, 1987. However, on April 29 at about 3:30 p.m., the new bridge's protective bumpers were hit head-on by the Deliverance, a {{convert|74|ft|adj=on}} shrimp boat. The bumper sustained minor damage and the bridge was not affected, but the vessel took on water and was towed out of the channel into shallow waters, where it promptly sank. The opening ceremonies proceeded as scheduled.{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Matt |date=April 30, 1987 |title=Vessel Wrecked, but Bridge is OK; Auto Pilot Blamed |page=1 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19870430&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=February 9, 2022 |via=Google News Archive |archive-date=February 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209165002/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19870430&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live}}

In 1990, the FDOT awarded a bid to Hardaway Company (owner of Controlled Demolition, Inc.) to demolish all steel and concrete sections of the older Sunshine Skyway spans.{{cite web |access-date=July 29, 2019 |title=Sunshine Skyway Bridge |website=Controlled Demolition, Inc. |url=http://www.controlled-demolition.com/sunshine-skyway-bridge |archive-date=July 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729124304/http://www.controlled-demolition.com/sunshine-skyway-bridge |url-status=live}} The scope of the project required that all underwater piles and piers, and surface roadway, girders, and beams, be dismantled. Special care had to be taken in removing underwater bridge elements near the channel, and the central portion of the original bridge had to be removed in one piece to minimize closure of the only approach to the busy Port of Tampa.{{cite web |access-date=April 7, 2020 |title=Demolition day nears for old Skyway |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1991/09/08/demolition-day-nears-for-old-skyway/ |website=Tampa Bay Times |date=September 8, 1991 |last1=Meinheardt |first1=Jane |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407154948/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1991/09/08/demolition-day-nears-for-old-skyway/ |url-status=live}} Most of the concrete material was used to create an artificial reef near the southbound approach of the old bridge, which was converted into a long pier for newly created Skyway Fishing Pier State Park. Unused approaches to the original spans were demolished in 2008.

Wesley MacIntire, the only motorist survivor of the collapse, was the last person to drive over the intact original span before it was demolished. Accompanied by his wife, he stopped at the apex of the bridge and dropped 35 white carnations into the water, one for each person who died in the disaster.{{cite book |last=Wright |first=E. Lynne |year=2006 |title=Disasters and Heroic Rescues of Florida |page=111 |publisher=Morris Book Publishing |isbn=978-0-7627-3984-4}}{{Cite web |date=October 16, 1989 |title=Skyway Bridge Survivor Dies of Cancer |url=https://apnews.com/article/3ab5accbd93e70867e3aaf16b42e1340 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=AP NEWS |language=en |archive-date=March 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326221415/https://apnews.com/article/3ab5accbd93e70867e3aaf16b42e1340 |url-status=live}}

At least 316 people have died by suicide by jumping from the bridge or its predecessors into the waters of Tampa Bay. An estimated 48 others have survived.{{Cite web |url=https://www.skywaybridge.com/home.htm |title=The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Suicide Jumper Report |access-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025110356/https://www.skywaybridge.com/home.htm |url-status=live}} Many other missing persons are suspected of having jumped from the bridge, but their deaths could not be confirmed, as no bodies were recovered.

In response to the high number of suicide attempts from the bridge, Florida installed six crisis hotline phones along the center span in 1999, and began 24-hour patrols. {{asof|2003}}, the call center at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay received 18 calls from potential jumpers, all of whom survived, according to a 2003 St. Petersburg Times report.{{cite news |first=Jamie |last=Jones |title=Skyway Safeguards Don't Deter Jumpers |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=October 6, 2003 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2003/10/06/Tampabay/Skyway_safeguards_don.shtml |access-date=April 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328103120/http://www.sptimes.com/2003/10/06/Tampabay/Skyway_safeguards_don.shtml |archive-date=March 28, 2018}} However, the bridge saw an average of one jump per month, reaching a record high of 18 suicides in 2018.{{cite news |last1=Marerro |first1=Tony |title=Sunshine Skyway suicide ends remarkable 19-month run without one |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/2023/11/30/sunshine-skyway-bridge-suicide-jumper-fencing/ |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=November 30, 2023 |language=en}}

In 2006, a feature film, Loren Cass, was released, which depicted a suicide jump off the Sunshine Skyway.{{cite web |first=Jon |last=Wilson |title=Movie will have its first local viewing |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=October 11, 2006 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/11/Neighborhoodtimes/Movie_will_have_its_f.shtml |access-date=May 28, 2007 |archive-date=September 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070908074946/http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/11/Neighborhoodtimes/Movie_will_have_its_f.shtml |url-status=live}} Two years later, Sean Michael Davis of Rhino Productions was inspired by his haunting experience witnessing a woman get out of her car and immediately jump off the bridge before anyone could intervene to create a not-for-profit film titled Skyway Down. His objectives were to deter other potential jumpers by "'punch[ing] them in the face' with interviews with survivors and family members",{{Cite news |url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1101741.ece |title=Filmmaker haunted by Sunshine Skyway bridge suicide hopes documentary will deter others |work=The New York Times |first=Katie |last=Sanders |date=June 13, 2010 |access-date=September 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106234128/http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1101741.ece |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |df=mdy-all}} to give them "hope and to try to de-glorify the romanticism of the bridge",{{cite web |url=http://www.skywayjumper.com/ |title=Skyway Down: A Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem; A Film Project |access-date=September 21, 2012 |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615003121/http://skywayjumper.com/ |url-status=live}} in part by informing those who have "mulled a leap to know about the bloody, battered aftermath."

In 2020, the FDOT installed the Skyway Vertical Net, a vertical fence designed to deter suicide attempts.{{cite web |access-date=January 28, 2020 |title=FDOT to install suicide prevention barrier on Sunshine Skyway Bridge |url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sunshine-skyway-bridge-to-get-suicide-prevention-barrier/67-e96ea0c8-576d-4fbe-9d7d-b6df29986e8b |website=WTSP |first1=Chelsea |last1=Tatham |date=January 9, 2020}} The fencing was placed atop the bridge's waist-high concrete barriers, creating an overall "wall" almost {{cvt|11|ft}} tall which runs for about {{cvt|1.5|miles}} along the highest portions of the bridge. The fence is designed to dissuade potential jumpers or at least slow them down long enough that law enforcement officials can reach them. The number of jumpers has been drastically reduced since the project's completion in June 2021, with only five reported over the ensuing 29 months.{{cite web |access-date=January 12, 2022 |title=I-275 Skyway Bridge Vertical Net |url=http://www.fdottampabay.com/project/601/445399-1-52-01 |website=FDOT Tampa Bay |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026115759/https://www.fdottampabay.com/project/601/445399-1-52-01 |url-status=live}}

As on any Florida controlled-access highway, pedestrians and bicycles are prohibited.{{cite web |title=Florida Statutes, Section 316.130: Pedestrians; traffic regulations |publisher=Florida Legislature |year=2019 |url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.130.html |quote=Subsection 18: No pedestrian shall walk upon a limited access facility or a ramp connecting a limited-access facility to any other street or highway; however, this subsection does not apply to maintenance personnel of any governmental subdivision. |access-date=February 14, 2020 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103164349/http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.130.html |url-status=live}} Stopping on the bridge for any nonemergency, including sightseeing, is prohibited. Traffic on the bridge is monitored by the Florida Highway Patrol, and a bicyclist, pedestrian, or stopped vehicle results in a police dispatch.

A major problem with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is corrosion of the steel in the precast concrete segmental columns on the high-level approaches. 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.{{cite web |first=Jose |last=Garcia |title=The Skyway Bridge: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow |publisher=Florida Department of Transportation |url=http://www.dot.state.fl.us/Structures/DesignConf2006/Presentations/session20/Final-20Garcia.pdf |access-date=March 18, 2007 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185024/http://www.dot.state.fl.us/Structures/DesignConf2006/Presentations/session20/Final-20Garcia.pdf |url-status=dead}} Another problem arose around 2005–06 when several news bureaus reported paint discolorations on the bridge's cables. These paint splotches and patches were a result of touch-ups that were performed sometime in 1998, but began to show through as a result of using newer, environmentally safe paint. The change in the paint's composition caused it to fade faster than expected.

From 2006 to 2008, FDOT hired a contractor to perform the first full repainting of the bridge since it opened in 1987. The work included repainting the bridge's 42 steel cables one consistent shade of yellow and rehabilitating the lighting system at the summit of the bridge.{{cite web |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/14/Tampabay/Soon__a_mellow_yellow.shtml |last1=Ave |first1=Melanie |date=July 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717062538/http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/14/Tampabay/Soon__a_mellow_yellow.shtml |archive-date=July 17, 2006 |title=Soon, a mellow yellow |website=St. Petersburg Times |access-date=January 28, 2020}} In 2022–2023, the yellow steel cables were repainted and corrosion protection was added to the ship impact system on each side of the channel.{{cite web |url=https://www.fdottampabay.com/project/798/439553-1-52-01 |title=I-275 (Sunshine Skyway Bridge) Cable Painting |website=Florida Department of Transportation |access-date=May 5, 2022 |archive-date=July 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704143708/https://www.fdottampabay.com/project/798/439553-1-52-01 |url-status=live}}

A 2014 FDOT study noted that the Skyway's low bridge clearance prevented larger vessels from using the Port Tampa Bay terminals, but made no recommendation about options, as the air draft of most new cruise ships exceeds the bridge's height limit at {{cvt|180|ft|m}}.{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Sara |url=http://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article34721970.html |title=Study offers options for Cruise Ships too tall for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge |date=July 8, 2014 |website=bradenton.com |publisher=Bradenton Herald |access-date=February 12, 2018 |archive-date=February 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212184730/http://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article34721970.html |url-status=live}} As long ago as 2000, cruise ship manufacturers have had to make special modifications for ships destined for Tampa,{{cite news |author= |date=2000-03-28 |title=Carnival |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times/29287489/ |work=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=2024-05-08}} and newer classes of cruise ships such as the Oasis class, which has a height of {{cvt|236|ft|m}}, far exceed the bridge clearance.

The former and current bridges have been featured in various forms of media. The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge is featured in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and the opening credits to Superboy. The current bridge has provided the setting for several films such as Loren Cass and The Punisher. The bridge also served as plot devices to various novels such as Dennis Lehane's 1997 novel Sacred{{cite book |last1=Lehane |first1=Dennis |title=Sacred |date=2013 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780062224040 |page=233 |edition=First William Morrow Paperback}} and Ben Bova's 2005 novel Powersat.Powersat by Ben Bova, 2005: pp 56-58. TOR Books - New York http://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765348173 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213010106/https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765348173 |date=February 13, 2019}} The bridge is also the subject of the song "Skyway Avenue" by We the Kings.{{Citation |title=We the Kings by We the Kings |date=2007-10-02 |url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/we-the-kings/1221488168 |language=en-US |access-date=2018-07-24 |archive-date=July 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724185209/https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/we-the-kings/1221488168 |url-status=dead}} The current bridge is also a popular filming location for car commercials.{{Cite web |title=Filming may delay Skyway traffic |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2003/01/04/filming-may-delay-skyway-traffic/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Tampa Bay Times |language=en}}{{when|date=February 2025}}

The United States Postal Service featured the bridge in 2012 on a Priority Mail postage stamp. Carl T. Hermann worked on the painting and the digital illustration was created by artist Dan Cosgrove.{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111230/ARTICLE/111239973 |title=Sunshine Skyway Bridge to be on postage stamp |date=December 30, 2011 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |access-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-date=March 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331022531/http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111230/ARTICLE/111239973 |url-status=live}}

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

In November 2017, work began on installing decorative lighting to the skyway's columns, main spans, and sloped spans. The $15.6 million lighting project provides a visual aesthetic while also enhancing safety and security by providing more light to the underside of the bridge from dusk to dawn. Over 1,800 light-emitting diodes were installed along {{cvt|1.7|miles}} of the bridge, which cycle through animated routines. The lighting project was completed in October 2019 and funded by FDOT through collected toll fees.{{cite web |first1=Thomas |last1=Becnel |access-date=December 13, 2019 |title=Sunshine Skyway will get colorful lighting display in October |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20190817/sunshine-skyway-will-get-colorful-lighting-display-in-october |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=August 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213213153/https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20190817/sunshine-skyway-will-get-colorful-lighting-display-in-october |url-status=live}}

On January 11, 1987, the Skyway Bridge opened up to 10,000 runners, joggers, and walkers before the bridge was opened to motor-vehicle traffic the following week. Runners participated in four races that ran simultaneously across the bridge, with two races going southbound and two races directed northbound. Publicity and posters for the race referred to it by the humorous title "20,000 Feet Above the Sea",{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/321432337/ |title=Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida on January 1, 1987 · 100 |work=Newspapers.com |access-date=2018-03-14 |language=en |archive-date=March 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316084702/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/321432337/ |url-status=live}} a reference to the 1870 Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.

On March 4, 2018, in partnership with the Armed Forces Families Foundation, the Skyway Bridge was closed for the Inaugural Skyway 10K.{{Cite web |url=https://www.skyway10k.com/ |title=Skyway 10K |website=SKYWAY 10K |language=en-US |access-date=2018-03-14 |archive-date=March 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316151722/https://www.skyway10k.com/ |url-status=live}} In contrast to the one-time race in 1987, the Skyway 10K has been held annually since 2018, with the exception of 2021, as it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was to be held virtually instead,{{Cite news |date=February 9, 2021 |title=Popular Skyway 10K To Go Virtual Due to COVID-19 |work=Bay News 9 |url=https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2021/02/09/popular-skyway-10k-to-go-virtual-due-to-covid-19 |access-date=September 30, 2021 |archive-date=September 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930140840/https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2021/02/09/popular-skyway-10k-to-go-virtual-due-to-covid-19 |url-status=live}} and 2025, as it was held virtually due to the race's usual staging spot at Tropicana Field suffering damage from Hurricane Milton.{{Cite web |last=Curtis |first=Genevieve |date=2025-02-10 |title=Skyway 10K goes virtual for 2025 race |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/skyway-10k-goes-virtual-2025-race |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=FOX 13 News |language=en-US}}

File:Skyway Bridge 3.jpg|Demolition of steel and concrete girders: The truncated pier visible was the one struck by Summit Venture.

File:Skyway Bridge 4.jpg|Main bridge span (secured on barge) being towed away

File:Steel Blast 2.jpg|Blasting steel truss

File:Blasting Concrete.jpg|Blasting concrete piers

File:Sunshine Skyway Bridge.jpg|The bridge at twilight

File:SunshineSkyway_FortDeSoto.jpg|View of bridge from Fort De Soto Park

File:SunshineSkyway4.jpg|Driving on the bridge, near the peak

File:SunshineSkyway_ALB.jpg|View of bridge heading south

File:Sunshine Skyway from Tampa Bay.jpeg|View from Tampa Bay

File:Sunshine Skyway Bridge (2023).jpg|2023

{{Portal|Transport|Engineering|Florida}}

• Dames Point Bridge
• Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, bridge collapse in 2024 under similar circumstances to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse
• List of bridge failures
• List of bridges in Florida
• Millau Viaduct, bridge with similar design in France
• Tasman Bridge disaster, bridge collapse in 1975 under similar circumstances to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Structurae|id=20003386 |title=Original Sunshine Skyway Bridge}}
• {{Structurae|id=20000263 |title=Sunshine Skyway Bridge}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNgxOwv88vk Sunshine Skyway Bridge 1986]

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