- Bayside Bridge (Pinellas County, Florida)
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Pinellas County Bayside Bridge Carries Pinellas County Road 611, 49th St North Crosses Old Tampa Bay Locale Clearwater, FL to Largo, FL Opened June 2, 1993 Daily traffic 68,807[1] Coordinates 27°56′47″N 82°42′19″W / 27.9463791°N 82.7053356°WCoordinates: 27°56′47″N 82°42′19″W / 27.9463791°N 82.7053356°W The Bayside Bridge crosses over the northwesternmost end of Tampa Bay, connecting Clearwater, Florida and Largo, Florida. Construction began in the early 1990s and was completed in Summer of 1993, officially opening for traffic on June 2 of that year. Originally conceived in the 1970s as the 49th Street Bridge, a toll-levied part of the 12-mile (19 km) Pinellas Parkway, the current six-lane twin-span bridge provides direct, unmitigated access from eastern Clearwater to St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport by connecting McMullen Booth Road to 49th Street North and also serves as a bypass for heavily-congested US-19. The speed limit is 55 mph (or about 88 km/h) until you reach McMullen Booth. It features a SPUI interchange at State Road 60 and a diamond interchange on the south end of the bridge. Along with the bridge, a $12 million interchange was built at the intersection of 49th Street and Roosevelt Boulevard. The bridge was completed before McMullen Booth Road was widened, dumping up to 36,000 cars a day onto the 2-lane road. On streets such as Marlo Road, drivers could wait as long as 15 minutes before being able to make a left turn.[2]
In 1991, Pinellas County administrator Fred Marquis argued that the cost of the bridge could be funded by a 10 year extension of gasoline taxes. The plan went through as the "Penny for Pinellas" tax. This eliminated the need for a planned $2.5 million, 16-lane toll booth that would have been built on sensitive marshlands at the south end of the bridge.[3] Cost of construction of the bridge is estimated at $71 million.
The original plan called for the Bayside Bridge to connect to nearby Interstate 275 via a limited access freeway that has yet to be built.
References
- ^ Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization (PDF). 2006 Average Annual Daily Traffic Counts in Pinellas County (A.A.D.T.) (Map). http://www.pinellascounty.org/mpo/maps/TrafCou06.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
- ^ This tragic turn may not be averted St. Petersburg Times, Aug 25th, 1993
- ^ Keep Tolls off the Bayside Bridge St. Petersburg Times, May 28, 1991
External links
- County Road 296 Connection Project at Tampa Bay Interstates site
Notable bridges and tunnels in Florida Panhandle Escambia Bay · Garcon Point · John Gorrie · Mid-Bay · Pensacola Bay · St. George Island · Trammell · Victory
North Acosta · Bridge of Lions · Buckman · Dames Point · Fuller Warren · Hart · Mathews · Memorial · Strauss Trunnion
West Central East Central A. Max Brewer · Bennett Causeway · Bert Dosh · Broadway · Eau Gallie Causeway · Granada · Melbourne Causeway · Merritt Island Causeway · NASA Causeway · Pineda Causeway · Port Orange Causeway · Roosevelt · Wabasso
South Broad Causeway · Cape Coral · Coral Springs† · Julia Tuttle Causeway · John F. Kennedy Causeway · John Ringling Causeway · Lehman Causeway · MacArthur Causeway · Matanzas Pass · Midpoint · Rickenbacker Causeway · Sanibel Causeway · Snow-Reed‡ · Venetian Causeway
Keys Bahia Honda · Card Sound · Jewfish Creek · Overseas Highway · Seven Mile
Tunnels † – Covered bridge‡ - Swing bridge
See also: List of bridges in FloridaCrossings of the Tampa Bay Upstream
Courtney Campbell Causeway
Clearwater Bayside Bridge
Downstream
Howard Frankland Bridge
Categories:- Road bridges in Florida
- Clearwater, Florida
- Transportation in the Tampa Bay Area
- Bridges completed in 1993
- Buildings and structures in Pinellas County, Florida
- Transportation in Pinellas County, Florida
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