Historic Tampa bridge to receive a makeover

Rebuilding of the Columbus Drive bridge, one of the oldest Hillsborough River spans, has begun. The $8.6 million project, slated to take seven months, will include a 90-day period during which the bridge will be closed to vehicles.

The 85-year-old historic span, linking West Tampa and Tampa Heights, is the oldest and longest of Florida's two remaining bobtail swing bridges.

Construction will require intermittent closing of the north- and southbound lanes, resulting in traffic delays, so the Hillsborough County Public Works Department is urging motorists who use the bridge to seek alternate routes. About 24,000 vehicles cross the Columbus Drive bridge daily, said department spokesman Steve Valdez.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will be the designated, marked detour, Valdez said.

The intermittent lane closures will continue until about November and, a short time later, the bridge will close while the contractor replaces components of the pivoting bridge.

The closure will affect motorists and pedestrians. "It will be closed 100 percent," Valdez said. "The bobtail swing in the middle will be in the open position for navigational purposes" during those 90 days.

Built in 1926 at a cost of $420,000, the Columbus Drive Bridge was granted historic designation in 2006. The 103-foot bobtail swing main span rotates on a turntable and pivot to swing horizontally, parallel with the water. By rotating 90 degrees, the swing bridge allows tall boats to pass without obstruction.

Florida's other bobtail swing bridge, built in Miami in 1930, is 125 feet long, crossing the Tamiami Canal at South River Drive.

Complete rehabilitation of the Columbus Drive bridge is required because it has outlived its normal useful lifespan and requires upgrading to current standards, according to Hillsborough County, which owns and maintains the 470-foot-long structure.

Major work will include replacing the bridge's mechanical elements and electric control system, roadway and deck grating, as well as structural repairs to the steel and concrete, plus painting. The bridge tender house will be reconstructed.

"It will be done by spring, because that was a contractual requirement," Valdez said of the work that will restore the Columbus Drive bridge to its original functionality and historical appearance.

A 2006 City of Tampa Historic Preservation Commission report on historic Hillsborough River bridges says the span on Columbus Drive (formerly Michigan Avenue) was built as a neighborhood bridge between two communities just getting under way in the mid-1920s — upper West Tampa and western Tampa Heights.

The bridge was a joint project between the city of Tampa, the Tampa Developers Corp. and the Florida Interurban Rapid Transit Railway Co.

The Florida Historic Bridge Survey says of the Columbus Drive bridge: "The structure reflects the historical process of suburbanization during the 1920s by way of the interests of developer and streetcar companies in its construction; Tampa's western suburbs depended upon the automobile and street railways for their growth."

Residents with questions or concerns abut the project should call (813) 635-5400 or go to hillsboroughcounty.org/publicworks/traffic/columbus/.