Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: 1975-2018
This architectural roadside attraction is a huge bridge carrying four lanes of Interstate 275/US 19 across southern Tampa Bay and is considered the “Flagship Bridge” of the state of Florida. In May 1980 a freighter ship collided with a support pier near the center of the bridge during a sudden storm resulting in the southbound roadway collapsing. A bus and several cars plunged into the bay killing 35 people. The steep top of the bridge is 430 feet high giving quite the view of the bay if you are foolheartedly enough to take your eyes off the road. We have traveled over this bridge more than a dozen times through the years (both the first bridge that was demolished in the disaster and the new bridge) and at the bridge’s summit it gets windy and gets a little scary.
