Edited 3:20pm: corrected ridiculous Manatee/Sarasota county error.
The original sunshine skyway bridge opened on this day in 1954. The fifteen mile two-lane highway connected south St. Pete to Bradenton (GeoPopUp warning), saving a 45 mile trip around Tampa Bay. In 1971, a second span was built, giving drivers two additional lanes to cross the bay. In 1980, a freighter crashed into the northernmost span during a storm, sending drivers over the edge and into a watery death. The new bridge, opened in 1987 is (was?) the longest cement cable-stayed bridge in the world. The eastern span of the is in Sarasota Manatee County, the western span in Pinellas, but the bridge itself is in Hillsborough County. More than 100 people have jumped off the bridge. Jumper Pool.com attempts to keep track of those stories.
PS: Bayciti had much more info on the bridge, and we hope he gets back online soon.
John
4 years ago
The southern portion of the Sunshine Skyway is in MANATEE county, not Sarasota
tommy
4 years ago
thanks… fixed… duh…
Meredith
4 years ago
Any links or personal testimony about the ghostly hitchhiker chick on the bridge?
Sandy
4 years ago
It’s the same “ghostly hitchhiker chick on the bridge” story everywhere.
Many, many moons ago I was a radio dispatcher for the harbor pilots. I was working the morning the Skyway went down and I was working the day the Blackthorn sank. Coincidence? I hope so.