Howard Frankland Bridge

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Howard Frankland Bridge

Carries	Interstate 275
Crosses	Old Tampa Bay
Locale	St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida
Maintained by	Florida Department of Transportation
ID number	150107 (northbound) 150210 (southbound)
Total length	15,872 feet (4,838 m) (northbound) 15,900 feet (4,846 m) (southbound)
Width	58.4 feet (17.8 m) (northbound) 68.9 feet (21.0 m) (southbound)
Clearance below	43.0 feet (13.1 m) (northbound) 48.9 feet (14.9 m) (southbound)
AADT	135,000^[1]^[2]^[3]
Opening date	1959 (northbound) 1990 (southbound)
Maps and aerial photos

The Howard Frankland Bridge carries Interstate 275 over Old Tampa Bay. It is by far the most traveled of the bay's bridges.^[1]^[2]^[3]

1 History
2 Bypass System
3 Reconstruction of the bridge approaches
4 References
5 Links

[edit] History

The Howard Frankland Bridge opened in 1959 and only carried four lanes (two lanes in each direction separated by a short, narrow barrier). Because of the bridge's design, including its lack of emergency shoulders, it proved to be a very dangerous span. Numerous accidents occurred on the bridge nearly every day, and traffic would back up as far as the eye could see on both the Tampa and St. Petersburg sides.
- The bridge quickly gained national recognition after a story appeared in a 60 Minutes segment in the 1960s, noting the below-average construction methods used to build the bridge. It is named for the man that proposed the bridge, Tampa businessman; Howard Frankland. Locally, the Howard Frankland Bridge was nicknamed the "Frankenstein" due to its horrendous traffic conditions.
Planning began for a larger-capacity replacement in 1978. Original plans ranged from a large, multi-lane suspension (or similar type) bridge, to two parallel bridges (with the central span reserved for HOV lanes). As traffic projections increased though, further exacerbated by the disaster on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980, it was clear that the new bridge would have to handle a total of at least eight lanes (four in each direction). By the 1987, it was concluded that a parallel, four lane span would be built. Plans also went ahead to rehabliltate the older bridge after the new bridge opened. Construction commenced on the new span in 1988.
- The new $54 million southbound span was opened to traffic in 1990. The older bridge was then closed to traffic, rehabilitated, and reopened in 1992.
The difference between the northbound and southbound spans is obvious to observers, as the older northbound span is shorter and has a steeper hump than the newer southbound span.

The bridge is often miscited as the "Howard Franklin" Bridge.

[edit] Bypass System

Before the parallel bridge was built, I-275 boasted a special bypass designation system. Whenever there would be a major delay at the Howard Frankland Bridge, special signs would alert drivers to the delay and direct them to utilize the bypass, which ran along SR 694, to the Selmon-Crosstown Expressway, Willow Ave, Howard Ave, and ending at Interstate 275. Special shields (signed N and S) along the route made sure that drivers were using the correct thoroughfare.

[edit] Reconstruction of the bridge approaches

After the widening project in 1992, Interstate 275 was increased to eight lanes on the bridge itself. However, this did not increase capacity on either end of the bridge. Backups are still seen on the Howard Frankland heading into Tampa, primarily due to a bottleneck at the SR 60/Veterans Expressway exit.

On the St. Petersburg side, after a comprehensive reconstruction project that took over ten years, lane counts have been increased from four lanes prior to the bridge, to six lanes through Downtown St. Petersburg, and eight lanes from Gandy Blvd. to the bridge.

A reconstruction project was planned to begin in 2007 for I-275 between the Howard Frankland and downtown Tampa. However, due to rising cost of materials, FDOT plans to revise the project, reconstructing the interstate in smaller phases rather than the original large, two-phase project. Once the reconstruction project is finished (around 2013), major traffic congestion on the Howard Frankland will be significantly reduced.