The Mid-Bay Bridge is a 141-span, , two-lane toll bridge in Okaloosa County in the Florida Panhandle. It connects U.S. Highway 98 in Destin to

State Road 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New Br ...

in Niceville. The bridge generally runs north-south; the approaches to the bridge carry the

State Road 293 The following highways are numbered 293: Brazil * BR-293 Canada * Quebec Route 293 Israel *Route 293 (Israel) Japan * Japan National Route 293 United States * Interstate 293 * Alabama State Route 293 * Florida State Road 293 ...

designation while the bridge itself carries the TOLL 293 shield. The bridge crosses

Choctawhatchee Bay Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in the Emerald Coast region of the Florida Panhandle. The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton counties, has a surface area of . It is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, connected to it through East Pass (also kn ...

, part of the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

. It was constructed in 1992-93, when the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

recognized the growing need for a more direct route between the Destin beaches and the mainland for

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

and to assist

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

evacuation from population centers and resorts on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. There is one toll plaza at the north end of the bridge. As of 2022, the one way toll for a standard 2-axle vehicle was $4.00 with cash, and $3.00 ($2.00 for frequent customers) with the SunPass electronic toll system.

Spence Parkway

The Spence Parkway is an, 11-mile, limited access, 2-lane, separately tolled highway that connects the north end of the Mid-Bay Bridge with SR 85 immediately north of

Niceville, Florida Niceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located near Eglin Air Force Base on Boggy Bayou that opens into Choctawhatchee Bay. The population was 11,684 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census population for Niceville was 12,7 ...

. Interchanges at SR 85, SR 285, Forest Road and SR 20 allow easy access from Interstate 10 to Niceville, Destin, Miramar Beach, and communities East of Niceville along SR 20. The Parkway provides considerably shorter travel times by avoiding 13 traffic signals along the previous route through Niceville on SR 20. Additionally, the hurricane evacuation routes from all of south Okaloosa County and western Walton County have been significantly improved. The Spence Parkway is tolled separately from the Mid-Bay Bridge and utilizes “all electronic open-road tolling” that allows customers to pay tolls without slowing down or stopping. Tolls are collected with SunPass transponders or by using a new

TOLL-BY-PLATE Video tolling (sometimes referred to as video billing, toll by plate, pay by mail, or pay by plate) is a form of electronic toll collection, which uses video or still images of a vehicle's license plate to identify a vehicle liable to pay a road ...

program being implemented statewide by

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) is a unit of the Florida Department of Transportation that operates toll roads in Florida. The current Executive Director is Nicola Liquori. History The Florida State Turnpike Authority was authorized by the ...

. Be sure to not confuse the two tolls, as that will result in an invoice within 30 days of using the TOLL-BY-PLATE to pay this toll by mail, even if Mid-Bay Bridge toll at the bridge was paid. These are 2 tolls that need to be paid separately.

External links

Mid-Bay Bridge HomepageFlorida DOT study on corrosion in the Mid-Bay Bridge

References

{{Bridges of Florida Toll bridges in Florida Bridges completed in 1993 Road bridges in Florida 1993 establishments in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Okaloosa County, Florida