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{{short description|Toll bridge in Santa Rosa County, in Florida, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Garcon Point Bridge
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|image =
|image_size =
|alt =
|caption =
|official_name =
|other_name =
|carries = 2 lanes of {{jct|state=FL|Toll|281}}
|crosses = [[East Bay (Santa Rosa County, Florida)|East Bay]]
|locale = [[Santa Rosa County, Florida]]
|maint = [[Florida Department of Transportation]] (FDOT)<br>Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority
|id = 580174
|designer =
|design = [[box girder bridge|Segmental box girder]]
|material = [[Prestressed concrete]]
|pierswater =
|length = {{convert|18,425|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}
|width = {{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}
|height =
|mainspan =
|spans = 127
|load =
|clearance =
|below = {{convert|65.6|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}
|traffic = over 6,000 (2022)
|builder =
|begin =
|complete =
|open = 1999
|life =
|preceded =
|followed =
|heritage =
|collapsed =
|closed =
|toll = $2.75 each way
|map_cue =
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|coordinates = {{coord|30|25|17|N|87|5|27|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|extra =
}}
The '''Garcon Point Bridge''' is a 2-lane [[toll bridge]] in [[Santa Rosa County]], in the [[Florida]] [[Salient (geography)|panhandle]]. The bridge generally runs north - south and connects [[U.S. Route 98 (Florida)|U.S. Route 98]] east of [[Gulf Breeze, Florida]] to [[Interstate 10 (Florida)|Interstate 10]] and [[U.S. Route 90 (Florida)|U.S. Route 90]] west of [[Milton, Florida]]. The road and bridge uses the TOLL 281 shield on signage from US 98 to I-10. North of I-10 the road is signed solely as [[State Road 281 (Florida)|State Road 281]]. Exit signs on I-10 display both the [[Florida State Road 281|State Road 281]] and TOLL 281 shields. The bridge crosses East Bay, a large section of [[Pensacola Bay]] and serves as an evacuation route during [[hurricane]]s.

== History ==
Due to the reputation of being a pet project of former Florida House Speaker Bolley "Bo" Johnson, D-Milton, who later went to federal prison for tax evasion,<ref>[http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051299/met_TaxEvasi.html "Ex-speaker guilty of tax evasion"]. The Florida Times-Union 12 May 1999. Retrieved 4 May 2010</ref> the bridge project was nicknamed "Bo's Bridge". It was completed in 1999 and in 2000, the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority asked for an $500,000 loan from the state despite having to delay paying back previous multimillion-dollar loans from the state.<ref name="urs bridge">Pittman, Craig. [http://www.sptimes.com/News/071600/State/Flawed_figures_leave_.shtml "Flawed figures leaves toll roads running flat"]. St. Petersburg Times 16 Jul 2000. Retrieved 4 May 2010</ref> The loan was later denied in 2001.<ref>Barron, Kelly. [https://web.archive.org/web/20021020223026/http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0903/046_print.html "Roads Less Traveled"]. Forbes 3 Sep 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2010</ref>

In 1996, URS Greiner Woodward Clyde, a consulting firm, made traffic volume projections based on the assumption that the Garcon Point Bridge would have traffic similar to [[Mid-Bay Bridge|a nearby bridge]] to [[Destin, Florida|Destin]], a popular beach resort instead of the subdivisions that it actually connects. In 2000, the average daily traffic was only 3500 vehicles a day, far from the 7500 that URS projected. In 2000, Arthur Goldberg, the URS vice president who wrote the estimates for the Garcon Point Bridge, told the ''St. Petersburg Times'', "We now know that [we were wrong about the estimates]. I don't think the Garcon Point Bridge will ever get back to the forecast we made for it in 1996."<ref name="urs bridge"/>

Odebrecht-Metric, the construction company who built the bridge, illegally dumped [[construction waste]] during the project, resulting in a $4 million fine for the company for violating the federal Clean Water Act. Three supervisors pleaded guilty and paid $1,000 in fines and served a probation.<ref>Pittman, Craig. [http://www.sptimes.com/News/061101/State/Bridge_inspectors_uns.shtml "Bridge inspectors unscathed"]. St. Petersburg Times 11 Jun 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2010</ref>

== Toll ==

There is one [[toll plaza]] at the north end of the bridge. Tolls may be paid with cash or with the [[SunPass]] electronic toll system. From December 2019 to June 15, 2022, the one-way cost for the toll for a 2-axle vehicle was $5.00. SunPass users who cross the bridge 30 times per month receive a discount for the toll cost.

In November, 2014, the trustees of the bridge project proposed raising the bridge toll to $5 each way and reducing the discount given to frequent users.<ref>{{cite web|title=Garcon Point Bridge toll could go to $5|website=pnj.com |url=http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/11/14/garcon-point-bridge-toll-go/19037733/|access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref>

On December 4, 2019, a State judge ruled that the bridge bond holders, UMB Bank, could increase the toll from the current rate of $3.75 per vehicle to $5 per vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Judge rules tolls can be raised to up to $5 on Garcon Point Bridge|website=pnj.com |url=https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/12/04/garcon-point-bridge-tolls-can-raised-up-5-judge-rules/2600183001/}}</ref>

On September 17, 2020, Governor [[Ron DeSantis]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pensacola Bay Bridge FAQ|url=https://www.fdot.gov/info/PensacolaBay|access-date=2020-10-02|website=FDOT|language=en}}</ref> has suspended tolls on the Garcon Point Bridge, as it is the primary alternate route for the [[Hurricane Sally]]-damaged [[Pensacola Bay Bridge]]. The repairs to that bridge were complete enough to allow traffic to return to the bridge on May 28, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pensacola Bay Bridge finally open after 8-month closure|website=pnj.com |url=https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2021/05/28/pensacola-bay-bridge-reopen-traffic-memorial-day-hurricane-sally-skanska/7466670002/|access-date=30 April 2022}}</ref>

In June 2022, FDOT bought the bridge. The tolls were lowered to $2.30 for SunPass customers and $2.75 for cash users on June 16, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-15 |title=Garcon Point Bridge tolls nearly cut in half after state acquires bridge |url=https://www.wkrg.com/northwest-florida/santa-rosa-county/garcon-point-bridge-tolls-receive-rate-reduction/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=WKRG News 5 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Garcon Point, Florida]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.garconpointbridge.com/ Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority]
*[http://www.southeastroads.com/fl-399.html Florida @ SouthEastRoads - State Road 399]
*[http://www.garconpointbridge.com/project.htm Garcon Point Bridge Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211055239/http://www.garconpointbridge.com/project.htm |date=2011-02-11 }}

{{Bridges of Florida}}
{{Florida Tpk}}

[[Category:Toll bridges in Florida]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1999]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Florida]]
[[Category:Concrete bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Box girder bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Santa Rosa County, Florida]]
[[Category:1999 establishments in Florida]]

Garcon Point Bridge - Revision history

imported>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: /* top */ add {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}