W. Howard Frankland Bridge | |
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Coordinates | 27°55′41″N 82°35′15″W / 27.92793°N 82.58755°W |
Carries | 8 lanes of I-275 |
Crosses | Old Tampa Bay |
Locale | St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida |
Other name(s) | Howard Franklin, Frankland Bridge |
Named for | William Howard Frankland |
Maintained by | Florida Department of Transportation |
ID number | 150107 (northbound) 150210 (southbound) |
Characteristics | |
Total length | 15,872 ft (4,838 m) (northbound) 15,900 ft (4,846 m) (southbound) |
Width | 58.4 ft (17.8 m) (northbound) 68.9 ft (21.0 m) (southbound) |
Clearance below | 43 ft (13 m) (northbound) 48.9 ft (14.9 m) (southbound) |
History | |
Opened | 1960 (northbound) 1990 (southbound) |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 135,000 (2006)[1][2][3] |
Location | |
The W. Howard Frankland Bridge is the central fixed-link bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida. It is one of three bridges connecting Hillsborough County and Pinellas County; the others being Gandy Bridge and Courtney Campbell Causeway. The bridge carries Interstate 275 and is by far the most traveled of the bay's bridges.[1][2][3]
Work began in fall 2020 to rebuild this bridge with separate pedestrian and bicycle lanes, with completion expected in late 2025. The new bridge will be north of the existing bridge. As a result, traffic is able to use the existing bridge while the new, bigger bridge is being built. The existing southbound bridge will be converted to northbound lanes, once the new bridge is completed.[4]
The bridge is often incorrectly referred to as the Howard Franklin Bridge.
The new bridge is being built north of the current southbound/westbound (St. Petersburg to Tampa) interstate bridge. The new bridge will consist of eight lanes; four general use lanes, (Tampa to St. Petersburg) and four Express lanes; two lanes from the St. Petersburg side toward Tampa, two lanes from the Tampa side toward St. Petersburg. A bicycle/pedestrian pathway separated from the roadway will is also included. The existing southbound/westbound (Tampa to St. Petersburg) bridge will be converted to the new northbound/eastbound I-275 (St. Petersburg to Tampa). Once the new bridge is built and all traffic is moved to the final alignment, the existing northbound/eastbound (St. Petersburg to Tampa) bridge will be removed.