The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1951-05-24
About Two And
One Holt Miles
Hove Been Dredged
Into Position

TranS-Bay CauSeWay connecting
st. Petersburg with the mainland
cast of Terra Cica island is finish
cd a few years from now, il will
cut 70 miles from the present
automobile route, ALI miles, to
Key West; and from the trip by
Highway from Tampa, So miles.
Tour maps show the present mile
age between Key West and Tam
pc to bc 397.
A ferry between PincllaS Point,
south of ST. Petersburg, and Man
atcc County at Piney Point. now
makes approximately the same
mileage reduction.
Great suction dredgcS are pull
ing sand from the bay bottom be-
low St, Petersburg and far out in
Tampa Bay, and as they work
around the clock, slender sand
spit is being spun along the lines
of the marine survey.
ga Miles Completed
At the present time about BE
miles of the highway base have
been dredged into position, and
the work goes forward at the
rate of a hundred feet each day
on the Trans-Bay Bridge cause
way which will rival the Candy
Bridge and Davis Causcway
across Old Tampa Bay further
north on the PinellaS peninsula.
BY October it is expected the
present dredging operations will
have carried the project IL miles
into TIE gay. When the program
IS completed, motor travel will
tu'r- south from 74th avenue and
. Halnes road in Pinellas county
above St. Petersburg, and run
straight south several miles to
Pinellas Point. Candy bridge
Traffic will merge with the road
now shown on automobile tour
maps as Route 600, and this road
, will extend straight south to
81. Maximo Point, east of Bird Key.
There it starts to swing east of
.outh from the vicinity of Mullet
Key. end to reach out for the
Manatcc county. The causeway
will span Terra Ciea island and
gain the mainland after its three
mile courses on Manatees county
soil with another short causeway.
Nile Into Tampa Bay
Within few days the first Sec
ton of the causeway fill, nearly
a mile, will have been finished
into Tampa Bay, This section
ends at the channel for the inland
waterway. Another section has
Been finished 1t is 5000 feet in
length. Work is progressing on a
third section, half a mile long.
The third part of the present
dredging contract is to run 1900
feet into the bay
Future work hinges on the ac-
..eeptance of bids, to be based on
TsstSccirica.ions and contractual
tetms. authorized by recent vail
dation of bond issue secured by
anticipated tolls after the cause
way IS opened. Bids will be called
for iatar thisasummcr on the giant
main trestles. three in number.
one near each end and the third
near the middle of the project.
=" The south trestlc will carry the
highway across Terra CiCa island
to the Manatee county mainland.
Parallel with the causeway on
the north or Pinellas end, will
run a channel from the inland
waterway to the new half-finish-
Cd gniont-Tampa channel.
Cost of seawallS has not been
included in any bids so far &C
ccpted. nor of any bulkheading,
although riprap win be dumped
s.araug The margins of the fills
approaching the bridges.
Above. the occan-going main
q ship channel bridge l49 feet
8, high is contemplated. This will
rival that on the Overseas High
way to Key West at Bahia
Honda. It will be four miles long
from the north to the soutf
trcstlcs. Crossing the channel il
will span 800 feet. In other sec
J.. tions il will be carried on piers
l:5 feet apart.
No Sea Walls
Reason why sea walls arc no
contemplated Is, the construction
representative, c. E. Anderson
yaia, because most of the water i