Gandy Bridge
Gandy Bridge is a set of bridges that cross Old Tampa Bay, connecting St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. It’s about three miles long and is the southernmost of three bridges between Hillsborough and Pinellas counties (the others are the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Courtney Campbell Causeway).
Construction and openings began in the 1920s. The first span opened in 1924 and, at the time, was the longest automobile toll bridge in the world. Tolls ended in 1944 after the bridge was seized during World War II. The original 1924 span was dismantled in 1975.
A second span opened in 1956 to carry westbound traffic, while the first span carried eastbound traffic. A third span opened in 1975, and a fourth span opened in 1996 to replace older sections. The 1975 span and the 1996 span today carry traffic for US 92 in the eastbound and westbound directions, respectively.
The 1956 span became the Friendship Trail Bridge, a non-motorized pedestrian/bike bridge, in 1997. It was closed for safety concerns in 2008 and demolished by 2016.
In 2021, officials began studying a fifth span to eventually replace the aging 1975 span. The plan would place the new fifth span on the north side of the fourth span and include a trail. If built, the fifth span would carry westbound traffic and the fourth span would carry eastbound traffic. Design could start around 2025, and the project would add trail connections across all three Pinellas–Hillsborough crossings.
Today, about 37,500 vehicles use the Gandy Bridge each day (2019).
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:45 (CET).