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Howard Frankland Bridge

W. Howard Frankland Bridge
Aerial view of the bridge in 2018
Coordinates27°55′41″N 82°35′15″W / 27.92793°N 82.58755°W / 27.92793; -82.58755
Carries8 lanes of I-275
CrossesOld Tampa Bay
LocaleSt. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida
Other name(s)Howard Franklin, Frankland Bridge
Named forWilliam Howard Frankland
Maintained byFlorida Department of Transportation
ID number150107 (northbound)
150210 (southbound)
Characteristics
Total length15,872 ft (4,838 m) (northbound)
15,900 ft (4,846 m) (southbound)
Width58.4 ft (17.8 m) (northbound)
68.9 ft (21.0 m) (southbound)
Clearance below43 ft (13 m) (northbound)
48.9 ft (14.9 m) (southbound)
History
Opened1960 (northbound)
1990 (southbound)
Statistics
Daily traffic135,000 (2006)[1][2][3]
Location
Map

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.

  1. ^ a b 2006 Average Annual Daily Traffic Counts in Pinellas County (A.A.D.T.) (PDF) (Map). Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  2. ^ a b PTMS and TTMS Sites, 2006, Pinellas County (15) (PDF) (Map). Florida Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "2006 Annual Average Daily Traffic Report" (PDF). Florida Department of Transportation. pp. Site 0062. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  4. ^ "I-275 (Howard Frankland Bridge) New southbound bridge between Pinellas and Hillsborough counties". Florida Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 27, 2022. 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.