The bridge was designed by Figg & Muller Engineers, Inc. In 1950, the State Road Department approved a plan for a cantilever bridge that would connect St. Another proposal called for a high-level bridge, similar to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, but it was deemed too expensive. One proposal called for a low-level bridge that would have been less expensive but would have obstructed ship traffic. In the 1940s and 1950s, several proposals for a bridge were put forward. The Florida State Road Department (the precursor to the Florida Department of Transportation) began studying the feasibility of a bridge as early as 1932. At the time, the only way to cross the bay was by ferry, which was slow and unreliable. The idea of a bridge across Tampa Bay dates back to the 1930s. Today, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is an iconic landmark of the Tampa Bay area and is an important transportation link for the region. In 2005, the Florida Department of Transportation added a suicide prevention barrier to the bridge to prevent people from jumping off it.The bridge has won numerous awards for its design and construction, including the Presidential Design Award and the American Institute of Steel Construction's Most Beautiful Steel Bridge award.

It is 4 miles long and has a vertical clearance of 193 feet, allowing large ships to pass under it. The new Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened to traffic in 1987.The new bridge was designed as a cable-stayed bridge, which is more resistant to high winds and was deemed safer than the original cantilever bridge. In 1980, construction of a new bridge began.In 1969, a collision between the SS Summit Venture and a pier of the bridge caused a section of the bridge to collapse, killing 35 people.Petersburg and Terra Ceia and was a vital link in the U.S. The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge was a cantilever bridge that opened to traffic in 1954.The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge spanning Tampa Bay in Florida, United States.

Bay bridge traffic cameras