Jump to content

Bayside Bridge (Pinellas County, Florida): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Addbot (talk | contribs)
m Bot: Tagging And Fixing
Morthanley (talk | contribs)
original plan info
Line 27: Line 27:
}}
}}


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 {{convert|12|mi|km|0|sing=on}} [[Pinellas Parkway]], the current six-lane twin-span bridge provides direct, unmitigated access from eastern Clearwater to [[KPIE|St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport]] by connecting McMullen Booth Road to 49th Street North and also serves as a [[bypass]] for heavily-congested [[U.S. Route 19 in Florida|US-19]]. The speed limit is 55 mph (or about 88 km/h) until you reach McMullen Booth. It features a [[SPUI]] interchange at [[Florida State Road 60|State Road 60]] and a [[diamond interchange]] on the south end of the bridge. Cost of construction is estimated at $71 million, virtually all of which funded by a gasoline surcharge tax, thus eliminating the need for toll collection on the span.
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 {{convert|12|mi|km|0|sing=on}} [[Pinellas Parkway]], the current six-lane twin-span bridge provides direct, unmitigated access from eastern Clearwater to [[KPIE|St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport]] by connecting McMullen Booth Road to 49th Street North and also serves as a [[bypass]] for heavily-congested [[U.S. Route 19 in Florida|US-19]]. The speed limit is 55 mph (or about 88 km/h) until you reach McMullen Booth. It features a [[SPUI]] interchange at [[Florida State Road 60|State Road 60]] and a [[diamond interchange]] on the south end of the bridge.


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. This eliminated the need for a planned $2.5 million, 16-lane toll booth that would have had to been build on sensitive marshlands.<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o9AMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aV8DAAAAIBAJ&dq=bayside%20bridge&pg=4004%2C2907515 Keep Tolls off the Bayside Bridge] St. Petersburg Times, May 28, 1991</ref> Cost of construction is estimated at $71 million.
Currently there are plans to connect the Bayside Bridge to nearby [[Interstate 275 (Florida)|Interstate 275]] via a limited access freeway.

The original plan called for the Bayside Bridge to connect to nearby [[Interstate 275 (Florida)|Interstate 275]] via a limited access freeway that has yet to be built.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==

Revision as of 07:37, 14 April 2009

Pinellas County Bayside Bridge
Coordinates27°56′47″N 82°42′19″W / 27.9464°N 82.7053°W / 27.9464; -82.7053
CarriesPinellas County Road 611, 49th St North
CrossesOld Tampa Bay
LocaleClearwater, FL to Largo, FL
History
OpenedJune 2, 1993
Statistics
Daily traffic68,807[1]
Location
Map

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.

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. This eliminated the need for a planned $2.5 million, 16-lane toll booth that would have had to been build on sensitive marshlands.[2] Cost of construction 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

  1. ^ 2006 Average Annual Daily Traffic Counts in Pinellas County (A.A.D.T.) (PDF) (Map). Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  2. ^ Keep Tolls off the Bayside Bridge St. Petersburg Times, May 28, 1991