A division of Skanska USA has been hired by the Florida Department of Transportation to design and to build the new replacement for the three mile Pensacola Bay Bridge. The $500 million project will span Pensacola Bay between Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Locally known as the "Three Mile Bridge," this project connects Pensacola to Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach.
The bridge to be replaced was built in the early 1960's and has been deemed to be structurally deficient. While this designation sounds frightening, there is no current threat to the public. The structurally deficient designation requires the Department of Transportation to plan a replacement strategy within the next five years.
Skanska is slated to oversee the design of the new bridge which is currently depicted as having three 12-foot lanes in both the north and south sections. The conceptual design shows the bridges with a wide shared use path on the outside of each bridge and has a concrete barrier separation between the outside roadway shoulder and the pedestrian pathway.
The plans utilize a design and build method where the same team of contractors and engineers will be authorized to oversee the final design of the span and also responsible for the construction of the project.
The daily traffic count for the current bridge is over 50,000 vehicles daily, but that number swells during the summer months as sun worshipers head south to the beach. Locals can look forward to a means for safe pedestrian and bicycle traffic as well as relief to the traffic delay that the additional lanes will bring.
