John Ringling Causeway

John Ringling Causeway (bascule bridge)
John Ringling Causeway (bascule bridge)
	The John Ringling Causeway bascule bridge in 2003, before it was replaced by a high-level bridge.
Coordinates	27°20′N 82°34′W / 27.33°N 82.56°W
Characteristics
Design	Bascule
Material	Steel
Total length	2,640 ft (805 m)
Width	74 ft (23 m)
Clearance above	20 ft (6 m)
No. of lanes	4
History
Construction cost	$20 million
Opened	1959
Closed	2003

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°WCoordinates: 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)	Ringling Bridge; Gil Waters Bridge;
Named for	John Ringling
Owner	FDOT
Maintained by	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 start	August 2001
Construction end	2003
Construction cost	$68 million
Opened	2003
Inaugurated	August 30, 2003
Rebuilt	2001
Statistics
Daily traffic	33,000 (2014)
Toll	None
Location
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap

John Ringling Causeway (also known as Ringling Bridge or Gil Waters Bridge^[3]) is a bridge 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 named after John Ringling, one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus and resident of the Sarasota area.^[4]

History[]

The first bridge was built in 1925 by John Ringling, who owned large tracts of land on both Lido and Longboat Keys. He wanted to develop the islands and financed the cost of the bridge at a cost of approximately $750,000, equivalent to $11.1 million in 2020, to connect the islands with the mainland.^[5] The ornate bridge opened for traffic on February 7, 1926 and was labelled "one of the greatest engineering accomplishments in the South” by the Sarasota Herald, which also proclaimed “There are no words adequate with which to express our appreciation.”^[4]^[6] Ringling donated the bridge to the city in 1927.

Around 1950, the first bridge began to show that it could not adequately handle increased traffic to the islands. In 1951, the State Road Department opted to replace the bridge with a four-lane drawbridge, which was completed and opened to traffic in 1959. The drawbridge was built at a cost of $20 million and the original bridge was demolished.

Around 2000, the drawbridge began to suffer the same fate as its predecessor. With the drawbridge opening as many as 18 times a day, it was unable to handle increasing amounts of traffic. To remedy the situation, construction began on the current high-span bridge in 2001. The 65-foot (20 m) tall bridge opened for traffic in 2003 at a cost of $68 million. Landscaping around the bridge was financed by private donors.^[6]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Wright, Cynthia (August 6, 2003). "Ringling Causeway Reconstruction Performs Center Stage in Sarasota". Construction Equipment Guide. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ Cox, Billy (August 29, 2018). "Sarasota's Ringling Bridge divided a community 15 years ago". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ "Ringling Bridge, Sarasota". Emporis. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b LaHurd, Jeff (July 31, 2008). "Controversy, thy name is Ringling Causeway Bridge". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
^ Lahurd, Jeff (August 17, 2014). "Sarasota's Ringling Bridge was always a symbol of city progress". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Papini, Michelle. "The Remarkable History of John Ringling Causeway". Bird Key Real Estate. Retrieved April 7, 2016.

[CEG-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Wright, Cynthia (August 6, 2003). "Ringling Causeway Reconstruction Performs Center Stage in Sarasota". Construction Equipment Guide. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

[15Y-2] Cox, Billy (August 29, 2018). "Sarasota's Ringling Bridge divided a community 15 years ago". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

[3] "Ringling Bridge, Sarasota". Emporis. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

[LaHurd-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b LaHurd, Jeff (July 31, 2008). "Controversy, thy name is Ringling Causeway Bridge". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2016.

[5] Lahurd, Jeff (August 17, 2014). "Sarasota's Ringling Bridge was always a symbol of city progress". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2019.

[Papini-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b Papini, Michelle. "The Remarkable History of John Ringling Causeway". Bird Key Real Estate. Retrieved April 7, 2016.

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show v t Notable bridges and tunnels in Florida
Panhandle	Escambia Bay Garcon Point John Gorrie Mid-Bay Pensacola Bay St. George Island Trammell Victory
North	Acosta Bridge of Lions Main Street Buckman Dames Point Fuller Warren Hart Mathews Memorial Strauss Trunnion
West Central	Bayside Clearwater Memorial Courtney Campbell Gandy Howard Frankland Pinellas Bayway Sunshine Skyway Treasure Island
East Central	A. Max Brewer Astor Bennett Bert Dosh Broadway Eau Gallie Granada Melbourne Merritt Island NASA Osteen Mid-Bay Bridge Pineda Port Orange Roosevelt Sebastian Inlet Wabasso Merrill P. Barber Alma Lee Loy Whitehair
South	Broad Coral Springs^† Julia Tuttle John F. Kennedy Lehman MacArthur Rickenbacker Snow-Reed^‡ Venetian
Southwest	Blackburn Point Bridge^‡ Boca Grande^‡ Bonita Beach Caloosahatchee Cape Coral Edison John Ringling Matanzas Pass Midpoint Sanibel S.S. Jolley
Keys	Bahia Honda Card Sound Jewfish Creek Long Key Overseas Highway Seven Mile
Tunnels	Henry E. Kinney Port of Miami
Ferries	Drayton Island Fort Gates Mayport
Lists	List of bridges in Florida List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida List of movable bridges in Florida
^† – Covered bridge ^‡ – Swing bridge

show v t Sarasota, Florida
Historic Districts	Burns Square Caples–Ringling Estates Central–Cocoanut Downtown Sarasota Harding Circle Laurel Park Maine Colony Overtown Rigby's La Plaza
Historic Sites and Landmarks	Bay Haven School Booker High School (Sarasota, Florida) Chidsey Library Crisp Building Ed Smith Stadium Florida Studio Theatre Lime Lake Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Mote Marine Laboratory John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art John Ringling Causeway Payne Park Robarts Arena Rosemary Cemetery Roth Cigar Factory Sarasota Classic Car Museum Sarasota High School Sarasota Jungle Gardens Sarasota Memorial Hospital Sarasota Municipal Auditorium Sarasota Opera House Selby Public Library Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Former buildings and Landmarks	El Vernona Hotel–John Ringling Hotel Gulfcoast Wonder & Imagination Zone
Colleges and universities	Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training East West College of Natural Medicine Florida State University College of Medicine Ringling College of Art and Design New College of Florida University of South Florida Sarasota–Manatee
Transportation	Manatee County Area Transit Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport Sarasota County Area Transit
Media	Sarasota Herald-Tribune Sarasota Observer ABC 7 SNN
Organizations	Florida Studio Theatre Sarasota Orchestra
Government	Sarasota County Government Library System Public Schools Sheriff's Office Sarasota Police Department
This list is incomplete.

John Ringling Causeway (bascule bridge)
The John Ringling Causeway bascule bridge in 2003, before it was replaced by a high-level bridge.
Coordinates	27°20′N 82°34′W / 27.33°N 82.56°W / 27.33; -82.56
Characteristics
Design	Bascule
Material	Steel
Total length	2,640 ft (805 m)
Width	74 ft (23 m)
Clearance above	20 ft (6 m)
No. of lanes	4
History
Construction cost	$20 million
Opened	1959
Closed	2003