Community Corner
St. Petersburg Welcome Sign Scheduled To Be Removed: FDOT
The big sign that welcomes you into St. Petersburg from the Howard Frankland Bridge is being removed for bridge widening, officials said.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The big pink and blue St. Petersburg welcome sign that greets you as you make your way into St. Pete after crossing the Howard Frankland Bridge isn't going to be around for much longer, city officials said.
The Florida Department of Transportation plans to have a four-year construction project on the bridge that includes incident management improvements and adding bicycle and pedestrian paths, the FDOT said.
In April, the Florida Department of Transportation said that it wants to prepare the bridge to accommodate transit in the future such as being able to carry heavier loadings such as a light rail transit system.
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If ever a light trail transit system were supported for implementation, the existing southbound bridge would have to be widened and travel lanes would be shifted to widen the bridge, according to the plan mapped out by FDOT officials.
The sign is in the way of where lanes would be widened, said officials.
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The 75-foot tower is worth $600,000 and was donated by local businessman Bill Edwards in 2012.
Construction crews would begin to dismantle the sign this fall, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The FDOT said the anticipated completion for the project is late 2024.
For more information about the project, visit FDOT.
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