Howard Frankland Bridge

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The Howard Frankland Bridge carries Interstate 275 over the northern portion of Tampa Bay. Close to 200,000 vehicles per day cross between Pinellas and Hillsborough counties on the bridge. It remains by far the most traveled of the bay's bridges.

A traffic jam on the Howard Frankland Bridge Northbound span, with the newer, taller Southbound span to the left.

Contents

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

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 occured 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 on a 60 Minutes segment in the 1960s, noting the below-average construction methods used to build the bridge. Locally, the Howard Frankland Bridge was nicknamed the "Frankenstein" due to its horrendous traffic conditions.
Planning began for a larger-capacity replacement in the late 1970s. 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, it was clear that the new bridge would have to handle a total of at least eight lanes (four in each direction). By the late 1980s, 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.

This bridge is often cited as the Howard Franklin bridge as well.

[Maps and aerial photos] Coordinates: [27.92793° -82.58755°]
* Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
* Topographic map from [TopoZone]
* Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
* Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Microsoft Virtual Earth]

Bypass System

Before the parallel bridge was built, Interstate 275 (Florida) 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 insist them to utilize the bypass, which ran along State Road 694 (Florida), to State Road 618 (Florida), 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.

Reconstruction of the bridge approaches

After the widening project in the early 1990s, Interstate 275 was increased to eight lanes between 4th St N and Kennedy Blvd. However, this would not be enough for the ever increasing traffic projections to handle. Backups are still seen on the Howard Frankland heading into Tampa. As for the St. Pete side, after a comprihensive reconstruction project, lane counts have been increased from four to mostly eight between 4th St N and Gandy Blvd. A reconstruction project is planned in 2007 for I-275 between the Howard Frankland and downtown. 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.

Links

[Howard Frankland Bridge page at Interstate275Florida.com]
[http://www.pinellascounty.org/mpo Pinellas County MPO Traffic Counts
[http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2006/6/28/166117.html Brief article explaining about possible revisions to the I-275 reconstruction project in Tampa

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