![Pensacola FL US 98 bridge south01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Pensacola_FL_US_98_bridge_south01.jpg)
The Pensacola Bay Bridge, also known locally as the Three-Mile Bridge, runs between downtown
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
, and
Gulf Breeze, Florida
Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is a suburb of Pensacola, and is in the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population estimate was 6,900 in 2020. Gulf Breeze is located just north of Pensacola Beach, and south of Pensaco ...
. It carries two to four lanes of
U.S. Highway 98
U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola and Apalachicola, F ...
across
Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle.
The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacol ...
.
History
The bridge, which is dedicated to
General David "Chappie" James Jr., opened to traffic on September 5, 2019, at which time it replaced the Sen. Philip D. Beall Sr. Bridge, a four-lane facility that ran parallel just to the east of the current structure, and on the same footprint of the eventual westbound structure. The original bridge, a narrow two-lane facility, called the Thomas A. Johnson Bridge, was replaced by the Sen. Philip D. Beall Sr. Bridge on October 31, 1960. The original bridge, which had been in service since June 13, 1931, 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 pier
Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
s until they were largely destroyed by
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlan ...
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. As of June 1, 2021, however, the northern replacement fishing pier is out of service, sustaining major damage as a result of rogue barges from Hurricane Sally, with damages to the fishing pier alone estimated to be $28 million
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
.
In 1989, the bridge was struck by a barge and was out of service for several months. All traffic was diverted to
ferries
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
, causing severe backups in both Gulf Breeze and downtown Pensacola. The Florida Department of Transportation took the opportunity to modernize the bridge, adding
emergency lane
A shoulder, hard shoulder (British) or breakdown lane, is an emergency stopping lane by the verge of a road or motorway, on the right side in countries which drive on the right, and on the left side in countries which drive on the left. Many wid ...
s and replacing
barrier walls and
lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...
.
Replacement
FDOT announced in January 2010, near the end of the bridge's 50-year
design life
The design life of a component or product is the period of time during which the item is expected by its designers to work within its specified parameters; in other words, the life expectancy of the item. It is not always the actual length of tim ...
, that the bridge was structurally deficient and would have to be replaced within six years. As of 2011, a study is underway to determine the "feasibility, location, and conceptual design" of a replacement bridge. 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 previous one, will not charge a toll. 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.
The first unofficial crossing of the bridge via the pedestrian walkway occurred on August 13, 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.
However, the bridge was involved in two separate incidents during
Hurricane Sally
Hurricane Sally was a destructive and slow-moving Atlantic hurricane, which was the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Alabama since Ivan in 2004, coincidentally on the same date in the same place. The eighteenth named storm, ...
in the
2020 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season featured a total of 31 tropical or subtropical cyclones, making it the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record. All but one cyclone became a named storm. Of the 30 named storms, 14 deve ...
. On September 15, a barge broke loose and got stuck under the bridge, causing it to temporarily close. Later, during the early morning hours of September 16, a crane was blown down onto on the bridge, knocking almost the entire span into
Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle.
The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacol ...
, rendering the bridge completely unusable.
With the old bridge being closed in preparation for demolition, traffic was detoured onto the tolled
Garcon Point Bridge
The Garcon Point Bridge is a 2-lane toll bridge in Santa Rosa County, in the Florida panhandle. The bridge generally runs north - south and connects U.S. Route 98 east of Gulf Breeze, Florida to Interstate 10 and U.S. Route 90 west of Milton ...
, with tolls being suspended for the time being. After months of delays, the first span of the bridge reopened on May 28, 2021, carrying 2-4 lanes of traffic with full 4 lane use in the following months as construction is completed.
See also
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References
External links
{{Authority control
Bridges completed in 1960
Buildings and structures in Pensacola, Florida
Transportation buildings and structures in Escambia County, Florida
Road bridges in Florida
U.S. Route 98
Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System
Former toll bridges in Florida
1960 establishments in Florida
Concrete bridges in the United States
Girder bridges in the United States