You Could Be Driving On New Howard Frankland Bridge This Year
Yes, you could be driving on the new Howard Frankland Bridge by the end of this year. This is all according to the Florida Department of Transportation. They update the progress of the construction of the bridge every single month. The project manager of the bridge said that they’re over 50% complete now with the new Howard Frankland bridge.
According to the FDOT website about the construction, it says that the construction activities are expected to finish in late 2025. Although that means for everything to be completed, not just this part of the bridge. So the part of the bridge that may be completed this year will be the water part of the project.
The Project Manager David Alonso, who reported to Spectrum News, after they complete the water portion of the project, “it’s a rinse and repeat operation”. If we have a quiet and dull hurricane season, we could see traffic open up later this year.
When the bridge gets done, it will be a four-lane southbound bridge going from Tampa into St. Petersburg. The southbound bridge you drive on now will be turned and will be northbound traffic. So what’s going to happen with the northbound bridge now? Well, that will be eventually demolished. The new Howard Frankland Bridge will include four new two express lanes, two in each direction.
That would be the best news if we are driving on the new Howard Frankland Bridge this year. I love seeing the progress that the workers are doing every day and can’t until to see the finished project. Project Manager
Updated Timeline On New Howard Frankland Bridge
As of April 2024:
– 100% of pilings have been driven.
– 99% of bridge footings have been completed.
– 98% of bridge columns have been completed.
– 92% of bridge caps have been completed.
– 77% of the bridge superstructure beams have been placed.
– 71% of bridge decks placed (this is what cars will eventually be driving on).
There are about 275 workers on the job which costs about $865.3 million. Each bridge is said to have a service life of up to 80 years. The Howard Frankland Bridge was constructed in 1959, making it 64 years old.
