Midpoint Memorial Bridge

Midpoint Memorial Bridge

Coordinates	26°36'2.58"N/ 81°54'2.60"W
Carries	CR 884
Crosses	Caloosahatchee River
Locale	Fort Myers and Cape Coral, Florida
Official name	Midpoint Memorial Bridge
Maintained by	Lee County Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Concrete Girder Bridge
Total length	1.25 miles
Width	80 feet
Clearance above	55 Feet
History
Opened	October 19, 1997
Statistics
Toll	$2 (Westbound traffic only)

The Midpoint Memorial Bridge (also locally known as the Midpoint Bridge) is a bridge located in Southwest Florida. It spans the Caloosahatchee River, connecting Fort Myers and Cape Coral. It is a four-lane fixed span one and one-quarter mile long. The bridge is so-named because its placement situates it roughly halfway between the Cape Coral Bridge to the south, and the Caloosahatchee Bridge to the north. It carries County Road 884, which is known as Colonial Boulevard on the Fort Myers Side, and Veterans Parkway on the Cape Coral Side.

Building a second bridge between Cape Coral and Fort Myers was first proposed in the 1970s, but construction was delayed for many years, largely due to opposition in Fort Myers. After a series of court battles, reaching the Florida Supreme Court, construction began in 1995, and the bridge opened for traffic on October 19, 1997. Earlier in 1959, the bridge's location was considered as possible location of the Cape Coral Bridge before its current location was determined.^[1]

The Midpoint Memorial Bridge was constructed as part of the extension of Colonial Boulevard into Cape Coral. Before construction, Colonial Boulevard terminated at State Road 867 (McGregor Boulevard), which runs parallel to the river. In Cape Coral, CR 884 (locally known as Veterans Parkway) now terminates at SR 78 (Pine Island Road) near Matlacha, and includes an overpass over the intersection with Del Prado Boulevard (CR 867A). The addition of the Midpoint Memorial Bridge resulted in several ancillary road projects in Fort Myers as well. Colonial Boulevard was widened to six lanes and overpasses were constructed over McGregor Boulevard and at the intersection with US 41.

The bridge is owned by the Lee County Department of Transportation. There is currently a two dollar toll in effect for westbound vehicles only, and there is no toll for eastbound traffic. Florida's statewide "Sunpass" prepaid electronic toll collection system is accepted on the Midpoint Bridge, along with Lee County's "Leeway" prepaid toll system, which is also used on the Cape Coral Bridge, and the Sanibel Causeway. However, there is a variable pricing scheme in effect: Cape Coral & Midpoint bridges allow a 25% discount for Sunpass users only during the following Variable Pricing Hours:

  6:30 am – 7:00 am    9:00 am – 11:00 am
  2:00 pm – 4:00 pm    6:30 pm – 7:00 pm

The intention is to move peak-hour users to "shoulder" commuter times, rather than to reward drivers for not traveling at all near rush hours, which is why the toll will still be full rate for those crossing the bridge at, say, 9:00 pm using a Sunpass.

On the Cape Coral side of the bridge, there is a replica of the statue from the Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn, Virginia (which is just outside Washington, D.C.). The statue depicts the six U.S Marines raising the American flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

On the Fort Myers side, there is a small Vietnam War Memorial.

Gallery

The Toll Plaza
Iwo Jima Memorial replica on the Cape Coral side
Vietnam War Memorial on the Fort Myers side under construction
The bridge as seen from the Horton Park & Boat Ramp at the end of Everest Parkway in Cape Coral (2008)

References

↑ "Cape Coral History". Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce.

Notable bridges and tunnels in Florida

Panhandle	Escambia Bay Garcon Point John Gorrie Mid-Bay Pensacola Bay St. George Island Trammell Victory

North	Acosta Bridge of Lions Main Street Buckman Dames Point Fuller Warren Hart Mathews Memorial Strauss Trunnion Thomas B. Manuel Blue Heron Flagler Memorial

West Central	Bayside Blackburn Point Bridge^‡ Clearwater Memorial Courtney Campbell Gandy Howard Frankland Pinellas Bayway Sunshine Skyway Treasure Island

East Central	A. Max Brewer Astor Bennett Bert Dosh Broadway Eau Gallie Granada Melbourne Merritt Island NASA Osteen Pineda Port Orange Roosevelt Sebastian Inlet Wabasso Merrill P. Barber Alma Lee Loy Whitehair

South	Broad Coral Springs^† Julia Tuttle John F. Kennedy Lehman MacArthur Rickenbacker Snow-Reed^‡ Venetian

Southwest	Boca Grande^‡ Bonita Beach Caloosahatchee Cape Coral Edison John Ringling Matanzas Pass Midpoint Sanibel S.S. Jolley

Keys	Bahia Honda Card Sound Jewfish Creek Long Key Overseas Highway Seven Mile

Tunnels	Henry E. Kinney Port of Miami

Ferries	Drayton Island Fort Gates Mayport

^† – Covered bridge ^‡ – Swing bridge See also: List of bridges in Florida

Crossings of the Caloosahatchee River

Upstream
Caloosahatchee Bridge

Midpoint Memorial Bridge

Downstream
Cape Coral Bridge

Coordinates: 26°36′2.59″N 81°54′2.60″W / 26.6007194°N 81.9007222°W / 26.6007194; -81.9007222

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, December 31, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.