Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 27° 37.938 W 082° 39.954
17R E 335637 N 3057579
In 2012, the U. S. Postal Service continued the trend of showing bridges on express mail stamps with this issue featuring Florida’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Waymark Code: WMV0PF
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/03/2017
Views: 10
This concrete cable-stayed bridge, completed in 1987, spans the mouth of Tampa Bay on Florida’s west coast. It replaced a steel cantilever bridge which was built on the same spot and which was also named the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This bridge first opened in 1954 with a second parallel span being added in 1971 to increase the capacity to four lanes of traffic.
The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge was destroyed in 1980 when a freighter collided with one of the support piers of the southbound span during a storm. The collision caused a major portion of the bridge’s truss structure to crash into the water below killing 35 people in the process. In order to prevent future accidents of this nature, large concrete islands called “dolphins” were installed around the supports for the new bridge. Several of these “dolphins” can be seen on the stamp.
Two of the approaches to the original span were retained and converted into fishing piers, one to the north and one to the south of the new bridge. The view from the north fishing pier approximates the bird’s eye view on the stamp, however, the south fishing pier affords better photo opportunities.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 28-Feb-2012
Denomination: $5.15
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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