Clearwater Memorial Causeway, Road bridge in Clearwater, Florida, United States.
The Clearwater Memorial Causeway is a six-lane road bridge spanning the Intracoastal Waterway and linking downtown to Clearwater Beach. This fixed structure includes pedestrian walkways and landscaped areas alongside the traffic lanes.
A wooden bridge was built here in 1915. The two-lane flat-span drawbridge that replaced it opened on Armistice Day, November 11, 1927, and served until a bascule bridge took over in the 1950s; part of the old span stayed open as a fishing pier. The current bridge was designed in 1998, begun in 2001, and opened to traffic in August 2005, over a year late after some piers shifted outward in 2004.
The causeway carries State Road 60 and has been designated a Great Florida Birding Trail site for seven consecutive years. Its greenways and pedestrian walkways draw walkers, cyclists and birdwatchers crossing the Intracoastal Waterway between downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach.
Vehicles and pedestrians use this bridge during the day, and the eastern end connects with the Pinellas Trail system for alternative travel routes. Be aware that the bridge serves as a main evacuation route during hurricanes and may have restrictions during storm season.
The 2005 bridge is 713.2 metres long and 22 metres wide between kerbs, with the roadway about 22 metres above the water. Its cost was estimated at around $45 million, and it carries State Road 60.
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