This Sunshine-Yellow Tampa Bridge Replaced a 1980s Disaster That Sent 35 Vehicles Plunging Into the Bay

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay

In case you didn’t know, the current version isn’t Tampa Bay’s first attempt, but a survivor.

The original 1954 bridge and its 1971 twin were in use until May 9, 1980, when the freighter Summit Venture hit a support during a storm, killing about 35 people.

Today’s bridge is an engineering response from 1987 to that tragedy, stretching 4.1 miles with its distinctive yellow cables and twin 431-foot concrete pylons.

Current bridge replaced an older one

A ship called Summit Venture hit a support column during a storm on May 9, 1980, at exactly 7:38 AM, crashing 1,200 feet of the southbound lane.

About 35 people fell right into Tampa Bay (a sad day in itself).

In response, they built a new bridge on April 20, 1987, with six huge protective concrete islands called ‘dolphins’ around each pier.

Each island is 30 feet across and goes all the way to the seabed. This protection system can handle ships up to 87,000 tons moving at 10 knots.

A unique middle-of-the-road design

Unlike most bridges that have cables on both sides, the Sunshine Skyway’s 42 cables all run down the middle of the road in one straight line.

You’ll see these cables spread out like a fan from two 430-foot tall towers, looking like sails on a ship. This middle-line design uses 42% less steel cable than the norm.

Each cable is 9 inches thick, contains 152 separate steel wires, and can handle winds up to 155 mph (strong enough for a Category 4 hurricane).

The bridge’s $15 million light show

Since December 2019, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge lights up with 1,824 LED fixtures that shine along 1.7 miles of the bridge.

This $15 million system creates light shows you can see up to 10 miles away, with eight ready-made themes like ‘Elegant,’ ‘Gateway,’ ‘Purple Majestic,’ and ‘Patriotic.’

Each light show runs for four minutes, and any special displays need approval from all three counties the bridge connects: Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee.

Driving over a rollercoaster road

Climb the steep 4% slope to the 430-foot high point that rises 193 feet in just 0.9 miles, creating that exciting stomach-drop feeling.

At the highest point, you’re 193 feet above the water. The main bridge section is 1,200 feet long, with 36-inch-high walls that keep you safe but don’t block your view.

The road is 95 feet wide as a whole, with four 12-foot lanes plus 10-foot shoulders on the outside and 4-foot shoulders on the inside.

On a windy day, they close the bridge

Seven wind meters track how fast the wind is blowing. The bridge closes when winds hit 40 mph steadily or 45 mph in gusts, which happens about 12-18 times each year.

Florida Highway Patrol handles these closures using electronic gates. The system can shut down the bridge in under 8 minutes when needed.

If the bridge closes, you’ll need to take different routes that add about 36 miles (50 minutes) to your trip between St. Petersburg and Bradenton.

Watch birds from the main pier

The waters around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge attract over 20 bird species, including many royal terns, laughing gulls, magnificent frigatebirds, roseate spoonbills, and sometimes bald eagles.

Catch a brown pelican (known to breed on nearby mangrove islands between April to August) from the North Fishing Pier. Recent wildlife counts found about 600 pairs of pelicans nest in this area each year.

Ferry service traces from 1927

Before the bridge opened up, people crossed Tampa Bay via ferry service which started on March 7, 1927, with two boats: the Fred D. Doty and the City of Wilmington (later renamed Pinellas).

By 1941, almost 100,000 vehicles used the ferry each year, with four boats leaving every 30 minutes in winter and 45 minutes in summer.

But ferries stopped running during World War II when the military took the boats.

At low tide, you can spot several concrete posts from the original docks at Bay Vista Park in St. Petersburg and near Terra Ceia Island at Piney Point.

Golden hour moments at the bridge

42 brightly colored cables create an amazing golden effect you can see for miles. They painted these cables yellow to match Florida’s ‘Sunshine State’ nickname.

You can catch a sunrise or sunset from the North and South Fishing Piers, Fort De Soto Park, or Terra Ceia Bay in Manatee County.

For the best photos, go 30 minutes before or after sunrise or sunset—around 7:00 AM/5:30 PM in winter and 6:30 AM/8:00 PM in summer.

5000 ships from 13 countries pass through

Watch huge cargo ships, cruise ships, and tankers go through the 1,200-foot-wide, 190-foot-high main channel each year.

The bridge connects three main ports: Port Tampa Bay (Florida’s biggest port, handling 33 million tons of cargo yearly), Port of St. Petersburg (for smaller boats), and SeaPort Manatee (handling 10 million tons yearly).

The busiest times to see ships are weekday mornings between 8 AM-12 PM.

Runners cross the bridge in spring

The Skyway 10K, which started in 2018, lets you walk or run across the bridge. The event shuts down I-275 for about 3.5 hours on race day.

Since it began, the race has raised over $2.6 million for military families. You climb 193 feet from start to the highest point (like climbing a 19-story building).

The 2025 event on April 6 will be online-only due to Hurricane Milton damage at Tropicana Field. Normally limited to 8,000 runners, tickets usually sell out within hours.

Home to over 500 bottlenose dolphins

They’re most active during spring (March- May) and fall (September- November) when the water flow around the supports traps fish.

From the fishing piers, watch dolphins use three hunting tricks: ‘strand feeding’ (pushing fish onto shore), ‘circle feeding’ (making bubbles to confuse fish), and ‘bridge feeding’ (trapping fish against bridge parts).

Mornings between 8-10 AM usually give you the best chance to see them.

Old bridge pieces house marine life

When they tore down the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1992, they used 9,000 tons of concrete to make artificial reefs near the approach spans.

These reefs sit in water 12 to 40 feet deep, about half a mile west of the southern pier. The structures now support 12 types of soft corals found in a 2022 sea life survey.

This ecosystem is also popular for fishing grouper, snapper, and Spanish mackerel in the summer. You can find these reef spots marked on boating maps.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 2025

This iconic bridge connects St. Petersburg (Pinellas County) to Terra Ceia (Manatee County) via I-275 and US 19. Toll is $1.75 cash or $1.16 with SunPass (as of April 2025).

Fishing Piers:

• Open 24/7 on both north and south sides
• Fees: $4 per vehicle, $4 per adult, $2 per child (ages 6–12)
• Access: North Pier via Exit 16 (54th Avenue), South Pier via Exit 2 (US 41/19)

Here are more iconic bridges in America:

• The Edmund Pettus Bridge, Alabama
• The Bixby Bridge, Pacific Coast Highway
• The Kinzua Bridge, Pennsylvania