Skip to main content

Florida State Road 60 over Courtney Campbell Causeway

By
One of the goals of my recent Florida trip was to drive over all the highway bridges over Old Tampa Bay.  After completing Interstate 275 I returned to Tampa and turned west on Florida State Road 60 towards Courtney Campbell Causeway.


Courtney Campbell Causeway is a 9.9 causeway bridging structure carrying FL 60 west from Rocky Point in Tampa over Old Tampa Bay to Clearwater.   Courtney Campbell Causeway was constructed by a local dredging company owned by Ben T. David from 1927 through early 1934.  Courtney Campbell Causeway opened in January of 1934 as Davis Causeway and had a $0.25 cent toll.  The Davis Causeway cost $900,000 dollars to build and was the longest structure of it's kind at the time of it's completion.

The Davis Causeway appears on this 1939 Florida State Road Map as a privately held toll road.

1939 Florida State Road Map

In 1944 Davis Causeway was purchased by Federal Public Works Administration and Florida State Road Department for $1,085,000.  The Federal Public Works Administration turned over their share to the Florida State Road Department which assumed maintenance of Davis Causeway and removed the toll.  In 1945 FL 60 was assigned to the Davis Causeway during the Florida State Road renumbering.  In 1948 Davis Causeway was re-designated as Courtney Campbell Causeway.  Courtney Campbell was a local Clearwater resident who was a U.S. Representative and member of the Florida Road Board.

Modern FL 60 is routed west from Dale Mabry Highway/US 92 on Kennedy Boulevard.  At the I-275 junction FL 60 west becomes a short freeway which passes by Tampa International Airport and the south terminus of FL 589 on the Veterans Expressway.  My approach onto FL 60 west was from I-275 westbound.





Signage on FL 60 implies a multiplex with FL 589 given the exit numbers are concurrent with the latter.  FL 60 continues west towards Courtney Campbell Causeway on Exit 2A.









The original access point used by FL 60 west to Courtney Campbell Causeway was on Columbus Drive from Dale Mabry Highway/US 92.  Columbus Drive still partially exists west of US 92 but most of it has largely been razed for expansion of Tampa International Airport.

FL 60 west on Courtney Campbell Causeway enters Rocky Point which essentially is now an island.


FL 60 has post miles on Courtney Campbell Causeway indicating how far away the end of the bridge structure is.  Below FL 60 west at Rocky Point is shown 7.5 miles away from the western end of Courtney Campbell Causeway.


FL 60 west on Courtney Campbell Causeway has access to several beaches.  Ben T. Davis beach is located immediately west of Rocky Point and is a nice call back to the original builder of the Causeway.


FL 60 and Courtney Campbell Causeway has raised parts of the bridge structure to allow boats to pass underneath.







FL 60 west on Courtney Campbell Causeway approaching the Pinellas County line becomes a Scenic Highway.  Shortly after crossing the Pinellas County line FL 60 west is signed as the "Purple Heart Trail."




FL 60 west on Courtney Campbell Causeway has one additional open water crossing before entering Clearwater.






I continued west on FL 60 into Clearwater which quickly junctions CR 611.


I continued on FL 60 west until US 19 where I turned north towards Tarpon Springs.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

By
Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California.  According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932.  US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley.  LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes.  The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...
3 comments
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Paper Highways; Interstate H-4 through downtown Honolulu

By
The Hawaiian Island of O'ahu is home to four Interstate Highways; H-1, H-2, H-3 and H-201.  Had history gone slightly differently during the 1960s a fifth Interstate corridor on O'ahu could have been constructed through downtown Honolulu and the neighborhood of Waikiki.  The proposed corridor of Interstate H-4 can be seen above as it was presented by the Hawaii Department of Transportation during October 1968 .   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html The history of proposed Interstate H-4 The corridor of Interstate H-4 was conceived as largely following what is now Hawaii Route 92 on Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard.   Prior to the Statehood the first signed highways within Hawaii Territory came into existence during World War II.    Dur...
Post a Comment
Read more