A tragedy that shook the Bay area

Photo Credit: https://greenbenchmonthly.com/st-petersburg-history/history-of-the-sunshine-skyway/

One of the most memorable tragedies in the Tampa Bay Area was the collapse of the Sunshine Skyway bridge. On May 9th, 1980 a freighter crashed into the center of the bridge during a storm. 35 people were killed in six cars and a greyhound bus.

This horrific event frightened everyone because this was a main bridge connecting St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. It was a horrible miscommunication and miscalculation. The freighter was called the MV Summit Venture.

Construction began on the new Sunshine Skyway bridge in 1982, and was completed and dedicated in 1987.

“At a length of 29,040 feet and a height of 190 feet above the water, it is the world’s largest cable-stayed concrete bridge, and it has won dozens of engineering and design awards.”

Having grown up in Tampa with my native parents, they recalled the story to be every time May 9th rolled around, or if we ever traveled over the new bridge. What a horrible tragedy and just giant mistake on the freighter’s part.

Today, I am proud of the engineering feat of the new bridge, and the tragically interesting story that lives on within those waters.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge