Clearwater Memorial Causeway

Clearwater Memorial Causeway

Carries	SR 60
Crosses	Intracoastal Waterway
Characteristics
Design	Girder
Material	Concrete
History
Construction begin	2001
Opened	August 2005
Replaces	Memorial Causeway Bridge

The Clearwater Memorial Causeway is a four-lane road between downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, Florida, and includes a fixed-span bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway. It carries the State Road 60 designation and is known for its greenways and pedestrian walkways (and was designated as Great Florida Birding Trail several years ago) and elegant bridge appearance and structure. The road is also a major evacuation route during hurricane season. However, the Memorial Causeway Bridge is negatively known in the Tampa Bay Area for its shoddy construction process and contractor mishaps (similar to its Tampa counterpart on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway). As a result of the work, the bridge opened to traffic over a year behind schedule.

History

The original Memorial Causeway Bridge was a two-lane flat span that opened in the 1920s. It connected downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach for nearly thirty-plus years until it was replaced by a bascule bridge in the 1950s. A portion of the original bridge was demolished with the remaining section kept open as a fishing pier.

Even though the bascule bridge served the needs of Clearwater through its entire lifespan, it became clear in the mid-1990s that a replacement span would be needed. Increasing boat traffic would raise the bridge numerous times throughout any given day, which proved to be especially dangerous when a line of westbound traffic exceeded the bridge approach and extended across the Pierce St. intersection. Many alternatives and designs were considered during the planning process, including concepts that ranged from a higher drawbridge to a miniature Sunshine Skyway-type bridge. The final design was chosen in 1998 and construction commenced in 2001. The bridge opened to traffic in August 2005.

Gallery

Clearwater Memorial Causeway, from the entrance/exit ramp at the Clearwater end.
Another shot of the Causeway, from below.
The old bridge in the background with the new bridge in the foreground.
Clearwater Memorial Causeway at night

References

2004 news articles

Bridge columns to come down St Petersburg Times - July 29, 2004
Cost for fixing bridge can be cut in half St Petersburg Times - August 6, 2004
Cost cuts blamed in project woes St Petersburg Times - August 29, 2004.

2005 news articles

New span done, old one to be torn down St Petersburg Times - August 20, 2005.
SCENIC RUN CELEBRATES NEW BRIDGE St Petersburg Times - August 28, 2005.
Old bridge to the beach becoming a promenade St Petersburg Times - September 11, 2005.
Dynamite to destroy part of old drawbridge St Petersburg Times - September 17, 2006.
Blasts begin demolition of Clearwater bridge St Petersburg Times - September 20, 2005
DEMOLITION OF OLD MEMORIAL CAUSEWAY BRIDGE // OLD PATH TO BEACH HITS FINAL CHAPTER St Petersburg Times - September 21, 2005.

Other sources

Memorial Causeway Bridge Construction Information

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clearwater Memorial Causeway.

Notable bridges and tunnels in Florida

Panhandle	Escambia Bay Garcon Point John Gorrie Mid-Bay Pensacola Bay St. George Island Trammell Victory

North	Acosta Bridge of Lions Main Street Buckman Dames Point Fuller Warren Hart Mathews Memorial Strauss Trunnion Thomas B. Manuel Blue Heron Flagler Memorial

West Central	Bayside Blackburn Point Bridge^‡ Clearwater Memorial Courtney Campbell Gandy Howard Frankland Pinellas Bayway Sunshine Skyway Treasure Island

East Central	A. Max Brewer Astor Bennett Bert Dosh Broadway Eau Gallie Granada Melbourne Merritt Island NASA Osteen Pineda Port Orange Roosevelt Sebastian Inlet Wabasso Merrill P. Barber Alma Lee Loy Whitehair

South	Broad Coral Springs^† Julia Tuttle John F. Kennedy Lehman MacArthur Rickenbacker Snow-Reed^‡ Venetian

Southwest	Boca Grande^‡ Bonita Beach Caloosahatchee Cape Coral Edison John Ringling Matanzas Pass Midpoint Sanibel S.S. Jolley

Keys	Bahia Honda Card Sound Jewfish Creek Long Key Overseas Highway Seven Mile

Tunnels	Henry E. Kinney Port of Miami

Ferries	Drayton Island Fort Gates Mayport

^† – Covered bridge ^‡ – Swing bridge See also: List of bridges in Florida

Coordinates: 27°58′18″N 82°48′50″W / 27.971602°N 82.813962°W / 27.971602; -82.813962

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