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Sunshine Skyway honors ex-governor

The Sunshine Skyway bridge will take the name of Bob Graham, who called for its rebuilding.

By JEAN HELLER and BILL ADAIR
Published November 21, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - After the 20,000-ton freighter Summit Venture rammed the old Sunshine Skyway bridge on May 9, 1980, bringing down the southbound span and killing 35 people, there was little agreement on how to rebuild the link over Tampa Bay.

Some wanted to rebuild the collapsed span, the cheapest fix. Some wanted to tunnel under the bay, the most expensive possibility. Florida Gov. Bob Graham held out for a brand new bridge and, eventually, he got what he wanted.

"Four years from now," Graham proclaimed on Jan. 31, 1981, "we should see a safe and beautiful bridge, a landmark in the nation, spanning the entrance to Tampa Bay."

Today, the bridge that has become a symbol for the Tampa Bay area and has appeared in more than a dozen national television advertising campaigns because of its grace and beauty, will be rededicated to carry its champion's name: the Bob Graham/Sunshine Skyway.

The ceremony is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. today at the North Skyway Park rest area just south of the Pinellas toll booth.

There will be no special signs on the bridge, said Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Carson. It will be marked with the normal, small, white-on-green identification sign.

"I am very honored," said Graham, who went on to the represent Florida in the U.S. Senate and retired in January. "(The Skyway saga) spanned my eight years as governor. The cargo ship that took down the original main span ... did so early in my governorship, and then the completion was a few weeks after I had left the governor's office."

The new Skyway was completed in 1987 at a cost of $244-million. At its highest point, it reaches 197 feet, 4 inches, 50 feet higher than the old span. Despite the height, many motorists say they are more comfortable on the new bridge because the old one had open steel grating that was slippery in the rain.

Graham says it was a struggle to get a new bridge rather than rebuild the old one.

"When the old bridge was disabled there was a strong movement to repair it as quickly as possible," he said. "I felt that would be a shortsighted action. First, the bridge, aside from the fact that it had been hit by this cargo ship, had other structural problems that were going to require maintenance. Second, the fact that the ship was able to disable the bridge indicated it was no longer acceptable."

Among other things in the state named for Graham are a school in Miami-Dade County called the Bob Graham Education Center and the Bob Graham Beach in Stuart.

Graham, who is scheduled to attend the ceremony with his family, said he didn't really care whether people now use his name when they mention the bridge.

"People can decide how they want to refer to it," he said.

[Last modified November 21, 2005, 01:20:04]