John Ringling Causeway

John Ringling Causeway
View of bridge and Sarasota Bay from the Sarasota Recreational Trail
Coordinates	27°19′34″N 82°33′46″W / 27.3262°N 82.5628°W / 27.3262; -82.5628
Carries	4 lanes of SR 789 and pedestrians
Crosses	Sarasota Bay
Locale	Sarasota, Florida
Official name	John Ringling Causeway
Other name(s)	Ringling Bridge Gil Waters Bridge
Named for	John Ringling
Owner	Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
ID number	170176
Characteristics
Design	Segmental box girder bridge
Material	Concrete
Total length	3,097.04 ft (944 m)
Width	106.35 ft (32 m)
Height	65 ft (20 m)
No. of spans	11
No. of lanes	4
Design life	75 years[1]
History
Constructed by	PCL Construction[2]
Construction cost	$20 million (1959 bridge) $68 million (2003 bridge)
Opened	Original Causeway: 1925 Second Bridge: 1959 Current Bridge: August 30, 2003
Statistics
Daily traffic	33,000 (2014)
Toll	None
Location

John Ringling Causeway (also known as Ringling Bridge or Gil Waters Bridge^[3]) is a causeway that extends past the Sarasota Bay, from Sarasota to St. Armands Key and Lido Key. The 65-foot-tall (20 m) bridge, built in 2003, is a segmental box girder bridge running from Sarasota to Bird Key. Another short bridge carries the causeway from Bird Key to Coon Key and St. Armand's Key. The causeway is named after John Ringling, one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus and resident of the Sarasota area.^[4]