The Boca Grande Causeway is a
causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
located in
Charlotte County, Florida
Charlotte County is a U.S. county located in southwestern Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 186,847. Its county seat is Punta Gorda.
Charlotte County comprises the Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is i ...
, connecting the community of
Boca Grande on
Gasparilla Island
Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been a ...
with the mainland near
Placida
''Placida'' is a genus of very small or minute sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Limapontiidae. . The causeway crosses
Gasparilla Sound and consists of three bridges, and is the only vehicular access to the island.
History
The Boca Grande Causeway originally opened in 1958 after six years of construction, replacing a vehicle ferry service. The causeway and its original bridges were built parallel to the now abandoned
Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway
The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway is a historic railroad line that at its greatest extent serviced Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor (estuary), Charlotte Harbor and a major shipping port that once operated there. The railroad's princip ...
. Passenger rail service to the island was discontinued by the railroad shortly after the causeway opened. While the railroad was abandoned in 1981, the adjacent trestles remain mostly intact today and are visible from the causeway.
The Causeway was privately built, but was sold to the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority, a government agency created to oversee operation of the causeway, in 1998. The northernmost bridge (connecting to the mainland) includes a
swing span over the navigation channel. The swing bridge, which is one of a few remaining swing bridges in Florida, is tall at its highest point. The center and south bridges are fixed span bridges, and are and tall respectively.
The current center and south bridges were completed in 2013. The current swing bridge was completed and opened to traffic in late 2015. The original bridges were replaced due to their age and functional obsolescence. The current bridges are taller and also include shoulders for bicycle traffic allowing improved access for bicyclists using the popular
Boca Grande Bike Path better access to the mainland and to the
Cape Haze Pioneer Trail.
Gallery
Image:Boca Grande New Swing Bridge.jpg, The north (swing) bridge
Image:Boca Causeway South Bridge.jpg, The south bridge
Image:Boca Grande center bridge.JPG, The center bridge
Image:Boca Grande Swing Bridge.jpg, The original swing bridge which operated from 1958 to 2015
Image:Gasparilla Sound.jpg, Gasparilla Sound and the defunct railroad trestle as seen from the center bridge
Image:Boca Grande swing bridges old and new.JPG, The current swing bridge with the original behind it prior to demolition
See also
*
List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Florida
*
Tom Adams Bridge
The Tom Adams Bridge is a bridge in northern Charlotte County, Florida. It is a double-leaf bascule bridge that carries Beach Road ( CR 776) from the mainland in Englewood to Sandpiper Key with another bridge connecting the route to Manasota K ...
References
External links
Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority*
{{Bridges of Florida
Causeways in Florida
Swing bridges in Florida
Toll bridges in Florida
Roads in Charlotte County, Florida
Gasparilla Island
Steel bridges in the United States
Concrete bridges in the United States
Girder bridges in the United States
Historic American Engineering Record in Florida
Road bridges in Florida
Transportation buildings and structures in Charlotte County, Florida