Pensacola Bay Bridge

The Pensacola Bay Bridge, also known locally as the Three-Mile Bridge, runs between downtown Pensacola, Florida, and Gulf Breeze, Florida. It carries four lanes of U.S. Highway 98 across Pensacola Bay.

Pensacola Bay Bridge
On the bridge, heading south
Coordinates30.395983°N 87.185644°W / 30.395983; -87.185644
Carries4 lanes of US 98
CrossesPensacola Bay
LocalePensacola, Florida, and Gulf Breeze, Florida, U.S.
Official namePhilip Dane Beall, Sr., Memorial Bridge
Maintained byFlorida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
ID number480035
Characteristics
DesignReinforced concrete girder bridge
Total length15,640 feet (4,767.1 meters)
Width55 feet (16.8 meters)
Clearance below50 feet (15.2 meters)
History
OpenedJune 13, 1931 (original bridge)
October 31, 1960 (current bridge)
2019 (replacement bridge)
Statistics
Daily traffic50,065[1]
Location

History

The bridge, which is dedicated to Sen. Phillip D. Beall Sr., opened to traffic on October 31, 1960, at which time it replaced the Thomas A. Johnson Bridge, a narrow two-lane facility that ran parallel just to the east. This original bridge, which had been in service since June 13, 1931,[2] was tolled and was signed as TOLL US 98 until the bridge bonds were paid off. The decommissioned original bridge served as two 1.5-mile-long fishing piers until they were largely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. By 2007, the remainder of the northernmost fishing pier was demolished. Demolition has begun on the southernmost part of the fishing pier. In 2010, construction was completed on a northern replacement fishing pier about half as long as the original pier.[3]

In 1989, the bridge was struck by a barge and was out of service for several months. All traffic was diverted to ferries, causing severe backups in both Gulf Breeze and downtown Pensacola. The Florida Department of Transportation took the opportunity to modernize the bridge, adding emergency lanes and replacing barrier walls and lighting.

The Pensacola Bay Bridge as viewed from Naval Live Oaks Preserve.

The bridge was involved in two separate incidents during Hurricane Sally in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. Late on September 15, a barge broke loose and got stuck under the bridge, causing it temporarily close.[4] Later, during the early morning hours of September 16, a crane was blown down onto on the bridge, destroying a portion of it and closing it indefinitely.[5]

The first unofficial crossing of the bridge via the pedestrian walkway occurred on August 13th, 2020. This was accomplished by Joe and Steve Evans, brothers from the MidWest. It took approximately 15 minutes of biking each way to fully cover the distance.

Replacement

FDOT announced in January 2010, near the end of the bridge's 50-year design life, that the bridge was structurally deficient and would have to be replaced within six years.[6] As of 2011, a study is underway to determine the "feasibility, location, and conceptual design" of a replacement bridge.[7] As of February 2013, plans have begun to replace the bridge with construction beginning within two years, at a cost of $595.6 million, on a course slightly to the west of the existing bridge. The new bridge, like the current one, will not charge a toll.[8] As of February 2020, construction of the new westbound bridge was completed with only the pedestrian portion to be completed with the old bridge being dismantled to make way for the parallel bridge to begin construction.

However, just months later during Hurricane Sally on September 15-16, 2020, a barge got stuck under the bridge before a crane fell onto one span of the bridge; this knocked almost the entire span into Pensacola Bay, rendering the bridge completely unusable.[9] As of January 2021, the first span of the bridge is expected to reopen in March 2021, carrying 4 lanes of traffic. [10]

See also
  •  Transport portal
  •  Engineering portal
  •  Florida portal

References
  1. FDOT Florida Traffic Online Archived July 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 25, 2011.
  2. "Bridge dedication attracts 20,000." The Frisco Employees' Magazine, July 1931. p. 4-5.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Blanks, Annie. "Construction barge breaks loose, strikes Three Mile Bridge during Hurricane Sally". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  5. "Hurricane Sally makes landfall: Part of Pensacola bridge collapses amid 30 inches of rain; 'catastrophic flooding' in Alabama, Florida". usatoday.com. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  6. "Pensacola Bay Bridge is 'structurally deficient,' must be replaced." Northwest Florida Daily News, January 21, 2010. Accessed May 24, 2011.
  7. Pensacola Bay Bridge PD&E Study Accessed May 24, 2011.
  8. Sen. Don Gaetz: No toll for Pensacola Bay Bridge Accessed February 1, 2013.
  9. Reports, Staff (September 16, 2020). "Three Mile Bridge suffers massive damage after Hurricane Sally topples crane, section missing". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  10. "First replacement deck concrete pour completed for Pensacola Bay Bridge". WKRG News 5. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.

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