NYE Kiss Gone Wrong

Second Date Update: The traditional midnight kiss on NYE can be magical but this was a NYE Kiss gone wrong. Kayla and Connor met on New Year's Eve at M.Bird in Tampa. After flirting for a few hours when the clock struck twelve they shared a kiss. Without a doubt they were hitting it off even after the ball dropped but would they be able to set up an actual date. Clearly Kayla felt like they could since she called us to ask Connor out. Would this be the start of something great or turn out to be a NYE Kiss Gone Wrong?

Here is the updated timeline for the new Howard Frankland Bridge.  Lots of people drive over the 275 bridge every day, in fact, 170,000 cars a day do.  The construction has been going on now for a few years, since 2017 and there is lots of progress.

There has been so much progress on the bridge in the last few months.  FDOT officials said by the end of 2025, the new bridge will be complete and we can start driving over it.

The new bridge will consist of eight lanes; four general-use lanes, (Tampa to St. Petersburg) and four Express lanes.
Two lanes from the St. Petersburg side toward Tampa, two lanes from the Tampa side toward St. Petersburg.  In addition, a bicycle/pedestrian pathway separated from the roadway will is also included.

As of July 2024:

100% of pilings have been driven.

99% of bridge footings have been completed.

99% of bridge columns have been completed.

96% of bridge caps have been completed.

85% of the bridge superstructure beams have been placed.

74% of bridge decks placed.

(you can see more images of bridge components)

There are about 275 workers on the job which costs about $865.3 million.  Each bridge is said to have a service life of up to 80 years. The Howard Frankland Bridge was constructed in 1959, making it 64 years old.

More information is coming out about the new bridges that are being built.  WFLA.com has great pictures of what each side will look like when it is finished.  The new bridge will have a total of eight lanes, four general-purpose lanes, and four tolled express lanes.  Two express lanes will travel from St. Petersburg to Tampa and the other two will run from the Tampa side toward St. Petersburg.  The new bridge design will also include a bicycle/pedestrian trail that will connect Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

Once the new bridge is built, southbound traffic will move to the new bridge and northbound traffic will move to the existing southbound lanes.  The original northbound bridge will then be removed.

How close will the new Howard Frankland Bridge come to looking like the artist rendition? Soon we will find out.

Can't wait for it to look like this.

It's looking good. Can't wait for it to be done.

New lane configurations. We are getting closer.

I can't wait to drive over this new bridge.

FDOT is also installing a multi-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Look at how much wider the new Howard Frankland bridge is compared to the other two. When you drive over it you can see it is higher as well.

Been in the works for so long. Now, we are getting close to driving over it.

Those cranes have been a fixture in Tampa Bay for years now. Soon, they will no longer be needed.