Old Howard Frankland Bridge Demolition Scheduled For Next Month

Crews will tear down the northbound Howard Frankland Bridge in July 2025, after its replacement opens in March.

Building companies Archer Western and Traylor Bros. will lead the demolition project. JVS Contracting Inc. will break up and haul away the debris.

The $865 million project will take down the first bridge ever built between Tampa and St. Petersburg. Traffic will move to the current southbound bridge during the work.

The Florida Department of Transportation began building the replacement bridge in April 2020. New express lanes will open in spring 2026, hoping to reduce travel times that have gone up 6% since last year.

The original bridge was only four lanes wide. Growing traffic forced officials to build a second bridge in 1990. That newer bridge became the southbound route while workers repaired the aging original.

Previous improvements tried to fix traffic jams as Florida's population grew. This newest upgrade continues efforts to keep up with increasing traffic needs.

The completed project should make for better drives with more lanes and improved design. Express lanes aim to help drivers avoid the traffic backups common on the current bridge.