The Howard Frankland Bridge project is now expected to be completed by this summer, according to the state transportation department’s project page.
The new southbound span opened to drivers in March. But key components — four express lanes and a path for pedestrians and cyclists — were slated to open early this year.
Those components are still expected to open this spring, said Kris Carson, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation.
It’s the demolition of the old 1960s-era bridge, which will not affect motorists, that will last until summer, she said.
In July, state transportation officials estimated the demolition would last through February or March. But the contractor has until the end of summer to finish the demolition, Carson said.
“That has been the fact since day one of this contract,” she said.
Costs for the project, a joint venture between state contractors Archer Western and Traylor Bros, have also mounted. The total price tag is now an estimated $973 million. In March, that number was $865 million. It’s the most expensive bridge project in Florida’s history.
Crews have been busy installing wayfinding signage for drivers in recent weeks, according to the state transportation department’s Facebook page.
As of the end of 2025, the southbound span is 98% complete, with railings and aesthetic features remaining.
The project also involves dismantling the old northbound span of the Howard Frankland, built in the 1960s. Piece by piece, cranes on barges have dismantled the deck, or driving surface of the bridge, leaving concrete foundations jutting from the bay.
The old bridge was 75% dismantled by the end of 2025.
Some residents urged the state to convert the old bridge into a walkway or fishing pier. But maintenance costs began to outweigh the benefits of retaining the old Howard Frankland, David Alonso, senior project engineer for the state transportation department, previously told the Tampa Bay Times.
The Howard Frankland first opened to drivers in January 1960, bearing the name of a tire salesperson who proposed a third bridge crossing Tampa Bay while sitting on the State Road Board in 1953.
In the 1990s, a second span was added, boosting the bridge’s footprint up to eight lanes.
The span built in the 1990s carried drivers south for decades. But last year it was converted into the new northbound bridge.
Construction on the newest eight-lane span of the Howard Frankland began in fall 2020. Drivers currently have access to only four regular southbound lanes on the new span.
But come summer, those willing to pay a toll may be able to bypass traffic using four walled-off express lanes, two in each direction. Those express lanes are part of a larger effort to install tolled lanes along congested portions of I-275.
This summer, construction began on an expansion of I-275 in Pinellas County from Fourth Street North, near the Howard Frankland, to the 38th Avenue exit in St. Petersburg. That 7.5-mile stretch is also expected to gain express lanes.