John Ringling Causeway
John Ringling Causeway | |
|---|---|
View of bridge and Sarasota Bay from the Sarasota Recreational Trail | |
| Coordinates | 27°19′34″N 82°33′46″W / 27.3262°N 82.5628°W |
| Carries | 4 lanes of SR 789 and pedestrians |
| Crosses | Sarasota Bay |
| Locale | Sarasota, Florida |
| Official name | John Ringling Causeway |
| Other name(s) |
|
| Named for | John Ringling |
| Owner | Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) |
| ID number | 170176 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Segmental box girder bridge |
| Material | Concrete |
| Total length | 3,097.04 ft (944 m) |
| Width | 106.35 ft (32 m) |
| Height | 65 ft (20 m) |
| No. of spans | 11 |
| No. of lanes | 4 |
| Design life | 75 years |
| History | |
| Constructed by | PCL Construction |
| Construction cost | $20 million (1959 bridge) $68 million (2003 bridge) |
| Opened | Original Causeway: 1925 Second Bridge: 1959 Current Bridge: August 30, 2003 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 33,000 (2014) |
| Toll | None |
| Location | |
John Ringling Causeway (also known as Ringling Bridge or Gil Waters Bridge) is a causeway that extends past the Sarasota Bay, from Sarasota to St. Armands Key and Lido Key. The 65-foot-tall (20 m) bridge, built in 2003, is a segmental box girder bridge running from Sarasota to Bird Key. Another short bridge carries the causeway from Bird Key to Coon Key and St. Armand's Key. The causeway is named after John Ringling, one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus and resident of the Sarasota area.