Traffic & Transit
Monumental Moment: 1st Beam Of New Howard Frankland Bridge In Place
After more than two years of construction, workers put the first beam of the new Howard Frankland Bridge Structure in place.
PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Most drivers probably passed by without a second glance. But for the construction workers who've been laboring for more than two years on the new Howard Frankland Bridge, it was a momentous occasion.
On Friday, the first beam of the new Howard Frankland Bridge was set in place.
The Florida Department of Transportation contractors began work on the new $865.3 million, 5.8-mile bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay from 4th Street in Pinellas County to south of State Road 60 in Hillsborough County in the spring of 2020. Work is expected to be completed in late 2025.
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When completed, the new, improved bridge is expected to ease the traffic jams that have plagued commuters between the two counties for more than 20 years.
The new bridge will consist of eight lanes; four general use lanes from Tampa to St. Petersburg and four express lanes; two lanes from the St. Petersburg side toward Tampa, and two lanes from the Tampa side toward St. Petersburg.
Find out what's happening in Pinellas Beachesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The existing southbound/westbound (Tampa to St. Petersburg) bridge will be converted to the new northbound/eastbound I-275 bridge from St. Petersburg to Tampa.
Once the bridge is finished and all traffic is moved to the final alignment, the existing northbound/eastbound (St. Petersburg to Tampa) bridge will be removed.
In addition to accommodating more vehicles, the bridge will feature lanes for light rail and autonomous vehicles and a bike/pedestrian path.
It's part of a massive project, one of the most expensive in the state's history at $2.1 billion, that includes redesigning Pinellas County's hodgepodge road network to create the Gateway Expressway.
See related stories:
- FDOT Seeks Public Input on Howard Frankland Bridge Sail Design
- Long-Discussed Reconstruction Of Howard Frankland Gets Underway
The redesigned road network is part of the Tampa Bay Next initiative, aimed at providing more capacity without the expense of adding more lanes. The new bridge will provide four general purpose lanes and two tolled express lanes in each direction.
The new design is also intended to improve emergency response times, provide more efficient hurricane evacuation routes and improve operations of express bus service and other transit options including light rail and autonomous vehicles.
The Florida Department of Transportation contractors began work on the new $865.3 million, 5.8-mile bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay from 4th Street in Pinellas County to south of State Road 60 in Hillsborough County in the spring of 2020. Work is expected to be completed in late 2025.
Construction is underway on the Brightline Orlando Station with service expected to begin in 2022, allowing commuters to travel from Miami to Orlando in about three hours.
Currently running from Miami to West Palm Beach, the high-speed rail system travels up to 125 miles per hour.
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