Howard Frankland Bridge 🌉

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for a couple of months — the Howard Frankland Bridge, which was part of what I considered my first real job and career in my early twenties.. I crossed it often and saw it change over the years. For a bridge, it never really felt like one — at least not in the usual sense. It had (last I saw) scenic turnarounds on both ends that gave it a unique character.

I’ve been under that bridge by boat, and over it by car, and I always felt safe on it. But wow, traffic could get snarled in a hurry if something happened.

I’m including two photos — one from when the bridge first opened in 1960, and another from March 2025, showing the newly completed span. I don’t really know why this came to mind, except that I don’t have any bad memories crossing this bridge.

Now the Skyway Bridge… that’s a different story, and definitely worthy of a blog post on its own — coming soon.

#HowardFranklandBridge #TampaBay #ThenAndNow #PersonalHistory