Up but not over

Massive amounts of concrete have been poured, but a year's worth of work is still needed on Clearwater's new bridge before it's ready to drive on.

By JENNIFER FARRELL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 1, 2002

CLEARWATER -- Eighty feet up, the road is taking shape.

Twenty feet at a time, construction crews are fashioning a four-lane ribbon of concrete into the new Memorial Causeway Bridge, set to open for traffic one year from now.

High above the water, the span is spreading forth in sections, reinforced with high-tensile steel cables. Snaking through the concrete in twisted bundles, the steel will act like giant tendons, pulling the roadway together, helping support its weight and the traffic it will carry.

Off-limits to pedestrians, the construction site rumbles to life each morning just after 7. A high-powered pump runs nonstop, clearing a dry spot for crews working below the water level. Invisible beneath massive concrete footings are reinforced shafts stretching nearly 100 feet below ground in some spots.

From a distance, the east and west edges of the project are a dusty jumble of earth and rubble.

Up close, trucks carry loads of fill, from as far as the construction project on Keene Road and the downtown Town Lake development, to build up the approaches on both sides of the bridge. Rubble from the soon-to-be-demolished fountain at the center of the Clearwater Beach roundabout also will be folded into the project.

The bridge is roughly one-third complete, and much of the dirty work is finished. Pierce Boulevard has been torn up, leaving heaps of soil and discarded clay pipe in place of the roadway. Crews are moving utilities, including cable and phone service, and stretching new water, reclaimed water, storm, and sanitary sewer lines.

Launched in February, the $69.3-million project is on schedule to open to traffic late next year, with a finish date set for July 2004.

Its dimensions mirror the bridge at Clearwater Pass, with identical height and length measurements. But the causeway bridge will have three times the distance between support piers. It also will have a center median 20-feet wide to support light rail service, in case a monorail to the beach is approved.

-- Jennifer Farrell can be reached at 445-4160 or farrell@sptimes.com ">farrell@sptimes.com .

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