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Bayside Bridge (Pinellas County, Florida)
Encyclopedia
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 miles (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.
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. 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.
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
, connecting Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
and Largo, Florida
Largo, Florida
Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, USA and is part of the Tampa Bay Area. Centrally located, it is the crossroads of the county. As of the 2000 census, the City had a total population of 69,371. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was...
. 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 miles (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
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
for heavily-congested US-19
U.S. Route 19 in Florida
U.S. Route 19 in Florida runs along Florida's west coast from an interchange with U.S. Route 41 in Memphis, Florida, south of Tampa, and continues to the Georgia border north of Monticello, Florida....
. The speed limit is 55 mph (or about 88 km/h) until you reach McMullen Booth. It features a SPUI
Spui
Spui is a Dutch term meaning a specific type of small sluice used for refreshing the network of waterways in a village or town. It may refer to the following things:*Spui, a river in the Netherlands...
interchange at State Road 60 and a diamond interchange
Diamond interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a freeway crosses a minor road. The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge...
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.
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. 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
Interstate 275 (Florida)
Interstate 275 in Florida serves the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, measuring 60.696 miles in length. The southern terminus is I-75 near Palmetto, just five miles east of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a toll bridge crossing Tampa Bay. The highway passes through St...
via a limited access freeway that has yet to be built.
External links
- County Road 296 Connection Project at Tampa Bay Interstates site