Bonita Beach Causeway

Bonita Beach Causeway
Big Carlos Pass Bridge
Carries	CR 865 (Estero Boulevard)
Crosses	Big Carlos Pass Little Carlos Pass New Pass Big Hickory Pass
Locale	Bonita Springs, Florida
Maintained by	Lee County Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	1 steel bascule bridge & 3 concrete girder bridges
Total length	4 Miles
History
Opened	July 4, 1965
Statistics
Toll	None

The Bonita Beach Causeway is a series of four low-level bridges located in Southwest Florida traversing the barrier islands of Estero Bay connecting the town of Fort Myers Beach with Bonita Springs. It carries Estero Boulevard (County Road 865) and is four miles long from end to end. Each bridge on the Bonita Beach Causeway is named after the body of water it crosses.

Route description

Estero Boulevard (which crosses the causeway) begins just south of the Bonita Beach Causeway on Little Hickory Island, splitting off from Hickory Boulevard (County Road 865). It heads north and crosses Big Hickory Pass Bridge, which lands on Big Hickory Island. After a short distance, it then crosses the New Pass Bridge, and lands on Long Key, and enters the Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson State Park. After crossing the Little Carlos Pass Bridge onto Black Key, Estero Boulevard turns west and crosses the Big Carlos Pass Bridge, a small single-leaf drawbridge, onto Estero Island, and the town of Fort Myers Beach.

History

Before its construction, the only way to access Estero Island and Fort Myers Beach by car was via the Matanzas Pass Bridge (which was still a small swing bridge at this time). The swing bridge's machinery was highly unreliable, which concerned islanders who feared the bridge would break down in the event of an emergency, such as a hurricane evacuation. The islanders felt having a second exit for the island for safety reasons would be wise.

The county then decided the most feasible location was to run the causeway from the south end of the island to Bonita Springs. The causeway's exact routing was selected by surveyor Carl Johnson (for whom Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson State Park was named for), and he became known as the father of the project. Construction began in 1963, and the causeway opened on July 4, 1965.^[1]

Gallery

Big Hickory Pass Bridge
New Pass Bridge
The entrance to the Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson State Park
The Water Tower which welcomes southbound travelers on the Bonita Beach Causeway into Bonita Springs. It is located on Big Hickory Island.

References

↑ "A Short History of Fort Myers Beach". Town of Fort Myers Beach. Retrieved 2012-11-23.

Coordinates: 26°24′15.58″N 81°52′51.37″W / 26.4043278°N 81.8809361°W / 26.4043278; -81.8809361

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

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