Tolls Are Back This Weekend
Some tolls remain suspended.
It was pretty cool while it lasted, but tolls on Florida roads will resume tomorrow. Charges for driving on many Florida toll roads were suspended before, during and after Hurricane Ian’s path through the Sunshine State. The suspension was part of a plan to make it as easy as possible to evacuate coastal areas. Once Ian hit, tolls remained on hold to assist residents financially as they tried to figure out what to do next. Now that much of the dust has literally settled and many residents have surveyed their properties, tolls have returned. That means that tomorrow, October 15th, you will now be charged to cross most of Florida’s most traveled roads.
There are exceptions, however. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge will continue to allow free travel across. Even Alligator alley will remain free to help workers save money as they travel across the state to help cisitens and get more supplies. The toll suspension program was enacted on September 26th, in anticipation of Hurricane Ian, when evacuees and rescue personnel needed to get around without being slowed by toll booths. If you’d like to know about specific roads, you can visit FL511.com. Source: WFLA.com
Soon To Be Finished!
What a Completed Howard Frankland Bridge Will Look Like
As you drive over the Howard Frankland Bridge, you see progress, but it’s still pretty tough to imagine what all of this work is going to look like upon completion. Work won’t finish until late 2025 according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The cost is expected to be about $865 million.
A new southbound/westbound (from Tampa to St. Pete) bridge is what you see currently being built north of the current southbound/westbound bridge. It’ll have 8 lanes – 4 for general use and 4 express lanes. There’s a bike and pedestrian path in the plan. The bridge we use now to go from Tampa to St. Pete will become the new northbound/eastbound part of 275 once the new bridge is ready. The bridge we use to go from St. Pete to Tampa will be taken down.
As of August 2023, 163 of the 226 bridge caps have been completed. 605 of the bridge superstructure beams have been place. 39 of the 133 bridge decks placed. You also may have noticed a new traffic flow on the south side (St. Pete side) of the bridge.
Not patient enough to wait until 2025 to see what this is all going to look like? Nor am I. Here’s a sneak preview from artist renditions shared by the Florida Department of Transportation.
Cleaning Up After Ian
Sean Roberts was conceived in the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky by two passionate, panel aligning, third shifters who had grown bored with the same ole same ole. Upon birth, he was placed in the trunk of a new Stingray and sent off to find his destiny.
That destiny included several stints on radio stations across the United States. Some played punk country gospel, while others focused on Croatian death metal played backwards.
After many years and many adventures, Sean wound up on The Shark, where he does shots of tequila while playing the most badass tunes ever created by humankind.
He remains humble, however, never forgetting about the lean years...the street corners and dark alleys where he played songs on his car stereo for food and sex.
He's on top and he's never gonna stop LIVING THE DREAM!