Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge
Clearwater, FL
The bridge connects Clearwater to Clearwater Beach across Clearwater Bay. It is the major route for vacationers headed to the Gulf of Mexico and other barrier islands to the south.
The bridge frames the view from Downtown out to the Gulf of Mexico and its semitropical sunsets, which are an important asset to the city’s visitor marketing. Thin, tapered piers keep the views to the Gulf and the sunset open and the underside of the bridge attractive, encouraging, among other things, the development of a new downtown marina.
The new bridge also frames the view from the Bay in to Clearwater’s downtown Park and main Library. To protect and enhance this view and the views out to the sunsets the City agreed to lengthen the three main spans to 330 feet, about twice the length usually built at similar locations. This improvement added about 5%, or $2 million, to the cost of the project.
The Bridge was colored white to better reflect the colors of the sunset. The Bridge itself becomes part of every day’s culminating event.
The white color also picks up the colors generated by the strong Florida sun reflecting off the water and the landscape. Indeed, when conditions are right, the patterns of the Bay’s surface wavelets appear on the bridge.
At night the white color reflects the light of adjacent activities, supplementing the aesthetic lighting of the main piers (inset).
Wide sidewalks on both sides of the bridge include overlooks for enjoying the views out to the Gulf of Mexico and back to the Downtown and are the site of frequent organized runs and walks.
A spiral ramp at the Downtown end of the bridge is the connection to downtown Park and other activities at ground level.
The graceful piers and bright underside have drawn activity to the downtown park and the fishing pier constructed on the remaining piers of the previous bridge.
“Just wanted you to know how much we’ve enjoyed looking at it and using it on an almost daily basis. It’s sooo (sic) beautiful and such a key element in the enhancement program for downtown Clearwater.”