Bay Area bridges will be closed sometime Wednesday

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – As of Wednesday morning, all four major bridges in the Tampa Bay area remain open.

That will change Wednesday as the Florida Department of Transportation said it expects to close all bridges as weather conditions worsen today in advance of Hurricane Milton.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Howard Frankland Bridge, Gandy Bridge and Courtney Campbell Causeway are expected to close this afternoon.

Transportation officials said there would be enough people and equipment on scene to close the bridges quickly once the call was made.

This is different from what happened last month during Hurricane Helene.

Although traffic was light, Howard Frankland remained busy for a few hours before the summit of Helene reached the area (see below). Drivers crossing the bridge braved the raging waves that flooded the road.

FDOT officials said they ordered the closure around 3 p.m., but it took another 45 minutes for the bridge to actually close.