In June, 1982, construction began on this 4 mile, 6.4 km. bridge across Tampa Bay, Florida. The main span cable-stayed structure, with a precast deck superstructure, was designed by Figg & Muller, the approaches were designed by the Florida Dept. of Transportation. This massive bridge was equipped with a bridge protection system, designed by Parsons Brinkerhoff. This protection system was developed to withstand an impact from an 87,000-ton tanker traveling at 10 knots.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge has a main span of 1200 ft., 365.7 m. and a vertical clearance of 193 ft., 58.8 m.. Completed in April, 1987, at a construction cost of approximately $245 million, the bridge safely carries four lanes of traffic (20,000 cars a day) back and forth from Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) to Manatee County.