[Times photo: Bob Croslin] 2004: As striking and majestic as the Sunshine Skyway is from a distance, a closer look reveals the ravages of wind, saltwater and age on the bridge's cable stays.
[Times photo] 1987: As the bridge was being painted for its dedication, a Times photographer described the cables as "a dramatic yellow."
From a distance, the Sunshine Skyway bridge resembles a tall ship, its two masts and cable stays forming sails that appear to bear the majestic structure toward open water.
But up close? Oh, dear.
What are those splotches, anyway?
Krissie Halter, 7, of Fort Myers tells her mother, Julie, that "the bridge has the measles."
Kevin Fuller of Tampa, who is older and more jaded by his own definition, simply says, "It looks like crap. What kind of introduction is that to the area?"
Both are talking about the two-tone cable stays, those long, thick mustard-and-yellow supports that arch gracefully into the sky at the top of the bridge's 197-foot arch over the Tampa Bay shipping channel.
Since the Skyway opened in 1987, those cable stays have never, ever had a new paint job. Instead, when spots of rust and corrosion needed to be covered up in 1998, the state Department of Transportation daubed over them with a color as close as it could get to the original.
Close is in the eye of the beholder. For the record, the dark, dull mustard color is the original. The brighter yellow is the touch-up.
"We tried to match the paints as best we could, but with the dirt and the weathering, it was impossible to find anything to match," said DOT spokeswoman Kris Carson.
The mismatch problem will be resolved in due time: The state hopes to find the money late next year to give the cable stays their first full new coat - actually, three coats - of paint.
It isn't a small job, or an easy one. Carson said the project would cost well over $1-million and probably will include recoating the barrier walls and redoing the lighting.
"This is a complicated project because of the cleaning and painting, plus there also must be a containment system so the paint does not get on any cars," Carson said.
The mottled and unseemly coloration pattern hasn't stopped one or two production companies a year from seeking permission to shoot a television commercial or part of a film on the bridge. They shrug off the color scheme.
"We use a lot of wide shots with the cable stays in the background," said Frank Craft, producer of the punk music-inspired film, Loren Cass, about growing up in St. Petersburg. "We wanted our shots to clearly show the Skyway, but we didn't need to get up close, so you can't tell."
Jennifer Parramore, head of the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Film Commission, said that to her knowledge, no film or commercial contract had been lost due to the paint job on the cable stays.
"It's not been a problem that I'm aware of," Parramore said. "I assume that the people who are shooting the commercials and films are master image makers, and it's no problem for them to doctor the images where they need to."
