Sunshine Skyway Bridge

This bridge takes travelers from St. Petersburg, Florida, to the community of Terra Ceia.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is amazing. It is visually stunning and jaw-dropping, especially when it is lit up at night. Featuring two massive towers, this is a cable-stayed bridge connecting Interstate 275 and U.S. Route 19. The bridge is a toll bridge and was completed in 1987, costing $244 million to build; however, today's bridge is not the same as the original version.

The original bridge opened on September 6, 1954, and had 2 lanes. Later on, in 1969, a second bridge was added, running parallel. On May 9, 1980, an accident damaged the bridge significantly when a freighter named MV Summit Venture hit and destroyed one of the piers, and 1,200 feet of the bridge fell along with 6 cars, 1 truck, and 1 bus. It was a tragic accident, and 35 people died that day. The bridge going north was still in use as a two-lane road until the new bridge was finished on April 20, 1987. It takes between 5 - 8 minutes to travel across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and it is 4 miles long. It is made of steel and concrete and is the longest cable-stayed concrete bridge in the world.