Gandy Bridge Totally Explained

Everything about Gandy Bridge totally explained

|design= |mainspan= |length=14,859 feet (4,529 m) (eastbound)
13,886 feet (4,226 m) (westbound) |width=40.4 feet (12.3 m) (eastbound)
39.7 feet (12.1 m) (westbound) |clearance= |lat=27.885363 |long=-82.562385 }}
The Gandy Bridge spans Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, Florida, USA to Tampa, Florida. It is one of three bridges connecting Hillsborough County and Pinellas County, the others being the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

Original Gandy Bridge construction

It was devised and constructed by George "Dad" Gandy, a Philadelphia contractor who had also built a theatre in St. Petersburg. Construction began in September 1922 and the bridge was completed in November 1924. The bridge was concrete and spanned a distance of two and a half miles, making it the longest automobile toll bridge in the world at that time. Its drawbridge had a clearance span of . It cost 3 million U.S. dollars to construct. The original toll to cross the bridge was $.75 for an automobile and driver and $.10 for additional passengers.
The bridge reduced the distance between Tampa and St. Petersburg from 43 to . Its location enabled travel by auto along the route of the world's first scheduled airline flight, which operated between Tampa and Saint Petersburg for six months in 1914.
The Gandy Bridge opened on November 20, 1924Sixteen visiting state governors and several foreign dignitaries attended the opening ceremony. During George Gandy's speech, he stated; "The bridge is built!"

Second Gandy Bridge

The original Gandy Bridge was replaced in 1956 with a slightly higher, fixed span. The second bridge remained in use until February 1997 and its future quickly went up in the air. FDOT deemed the bridge structurally deficient to vehicular traffic (years before) unless costly repairs were made. FDOT initially planned to demolish the middle section of the bridge (including the hump) and leave the remaining fishing pier segments intact. The demolished segments would have then been used for an artifcial reef. When residents and community groups of both Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties lobbied together against FDOT and the governments of the two counties to save the 1956 bridge, FDOT dropped its demolition plan. After two years of hearings and funding issues, the 1956 bridge reopened to pedestrian and bicycle traffic on December 11, 1999 as the Friendship Trail Bridge.

Third and fourth Gandy Bridges

A parallel span was built in the mid 1970s (just feet south of the 1950's bridge), increasing the total number of lanes to four (two going eastbound towards Tampa, and two going westbound toward St. Petersburg). The bridge opened to traffic in 1976 and was originally without street lighting. On December 21, 1996, another parallel span was built in between the two existing spans to replace the aging 1956 bridge. The new bridge was initially opened to eastbound traffic while the 1976 bridge was closed to allow FDOT to install street lighting and conduct other bridge work. Westbound traffic at that time continued to utilize the 1956 bridge. The 1996 bridge was converted to westbound traffic in February 1997.

Differences between the spans

The differences between the three bridges are obvious to observers. The 1956 bridge has a very steep hump and no emergency shoulders (which caused horrendous traffic hazards prior to its closing). The 1976 bridge has a more gradual hump than the oldest bridge and wider shoulders. The pillars supporting the hump are of a different design but the remaining architectural elements between the two bridges (bridge rails, etc) are very similar. The 1996 bridge is the one that differs the most from the older bridges. Its height is nine feet higher than its counterparts and has a very gradual hump. The design and architecture of the 1996 bridge is similar to the Clearwater Pass Bridge replacement, which was completed in 1994.

Mishap history

February 6, 1981: The barge Liquilassie, towed by the tug Tusker, swings wide on a starboard turn and strikes Gandy Bridge, damaging a support column.
   August 31, 1985: Two barges break their moorings and, powered by waves from Hurricane Elena, crash into the southernmost span of the bridge.
   March 31, 1988: The shrimp boat Madonna T. Tillman sinks after striking the center of the bridge while being towed by another shrimp boat.
   March 31, 2006: The 285-foot-long steel barge Apache, towed by the tug Crosby Skipper, swings wide on a turn and slams into a concrete support column. Chunks of reinforced concrete dropped onto the barge's deck, and cracks rippled through the 48-foot-long beam. For more details see Barge impacts Gandy

St Petersburg Times - 3/31/2006.

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