History
The original Matanzas Pass Bridge was a small wooden toll bridge built in 1921. The roadway connecting to the bridge originally ran from McGregor Boulevard to Bunche Beach, and then ran along the beach to Matanzas Pass. The part of this route running from Bunche Beach to McGregor Boulevard still exists today, and is known as John Morris Road. At this point, San Carlos Island was part of the mainland. A major hurricane in 1926 destroyed the original bridge, only five years after it was built. This same hurricane also separated what is now San Carlos Island from the mainland, making the road impassible. The body of water created by the hurricane separating San Carlos Island from the mainland was appropriately named Hurricane Pass.
In 1927, a concrete swing bridge was installed to replace the original. San Carlos Boulevard was also constructed at this time as a more direct route to replace the original road. The swing bridge was a recycled bridge that formerly operated on the east coast of Florida. An electric motor was installed on the bridge in 1950 due to the area's rapidly growing shrimping industry, which caused the span to be opened frequently.
Despite being motorized, the bridge was old and unreliable, and island residents feared that the bridge would fail and strand them in the event of an emergency, such as a hurricane evacuation. This concern led to the construction of Bonita Beach Causeway at the southern end of the island in 1965.
The swing bridge was replaced by the current bridge in 1979. The current bridge is a 65 foot tall fixed span to accommodate the area's large shrimping vessels without disrupting traffic. The current bridge was built one block east of the swing bridge to accommodate its height, and the old bridge's approach is now known as Old San Carlos Boulevard on the island side.
Read more about this topic: Matanzas Pass Bridge
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