All six lanes of Pensacola Bay Bridge now open; final completion estimated for spring
All six lanes on the Pensacola Bay Bridge are now open to traffic after the opening of the third travel lane on the eastbound structure Thursday.
With the opening of the lane, each bridge structure consists of three, 12-foot travel lanes flanked by 10-foot shoulders, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
While all six travel lanes on the bridge are now open, additional work remains to complete the project. Tasks will include painting, work on the bridge’s aesthetic lighting system, completion of the wayside park area in Gulf Breeze, and completion of the shared-use path on the westbound bridge. These activities will, at times, require intermittent nighttime lane closures. Completion of the project is currently estimated for later this spring.
Westbound span of Pensacola Bay Bridge is open. PPD has already made 21 traffic stops.
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With a construction cost of approximately $440-million, the Pensacola Bay Bridge replacement project is the largest transportation initiative in Northwest Florida history. More than 55,000 drivers travel the bridge daily between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. The modern, six-lane structure replaces a four-lane bridge that opened in 1960. The original bridge across the bay was a two-lane drawbridge that opened in 1931.
Construction of the new structure began in 2017 and was delayed by eight months in 2020 when Skanska-owned construction barges became unmoored during Hurricane Sally and caused damage to the bridge and other public and private structures. Skanska has been the target of numerous lawsuits related to the damage and financial losses stemming from the bridge outage.
All FDOT activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Bay Bridge fully open with 3 lanes eastbound and westbound
