{"id":142887,"date":"2026-02-04T04:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/142887\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T04:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:05:08","slug":"new-15m-bridge-to-link-tampa-and-clearwater-beach-what-pedestrians-can-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/142887\/","title":{"rendered":"New $15M bridge to link Tampa and Clearwater Beach: What pedestrians can expect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CLEARWATER, Fla. – A major pedestrian route designed to help connect Clearwater Beach<\/a> to Tampa<\/a> is nearing completion, with the $15.3 million Courtney Campbell Causeway pedestrian overpass on track to open by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

As construction continues near Bayshore Boulevard and Gulf-to-Bay Blvd, the city of Clearwater is already planning improvements to the 1.6-mile Bayshore Trail that will link directly to the overpass.<\/p>\n

City officials say the trail runs from Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard north to the Safety Harbor line and serves walkers, cyclists, and outdoor enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

READ: Real-life Jurassic Park: Amazonian \u2018river monsters\u2019 now in Florida<\/a><\/p>\n

Proposed upgrades <\/p>\n

Clearwater\u2019s Parks and Recreation Department recently applied for a Recreational Trails Program grant through the Florida Department of Transportation that could help fund several amenities, including:<\/p>\n

Trash cansPicnic tablesWater fountainsDog waste stationsSignage <\/p>\n

Leaders are also considering building a trailhead near the new overpass featuring bike racks, benches, and additional gathering spaces.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s connecting intergovernmental parks, really,” said Mark Parry, Clearwater Parks & Rec senior division program manager about the new pedestrian network.<\/p>\n

Neighbor Sandee Geres said the trailhead could give visitors from Clearwater Beach or even Tampa a convenient place to park and access the trail.<\/p>\n

READ: Florida freeze hits Parkesdale Farms: Why your grocery bill and Valentine\u2019s Day could be impacted<\/a><\/p>\n

Addressing aging infrastructure <\/p>\n

Some proposals focus on repairing the trail\u2019s aging boardwalk near Drew Street, which officials say has been damaged by rising tides and weather.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

“One of our long-term goals was to remove that boardwalk part, raise it, and replace it,” a city representative said during Tuesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n

Plans also call for replacing exercise stations at Cooper\u2019s Bayou Park.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

City leaders are continuing to gather community input as they pursue grant funding and refine plans for the trail upgrades.<\/p>\n

If approved, the enhancements would complement the new overpass and further expand pedestrian and cycling connectivity across the region.<\/p>\n

The Source: This story is based on reporting from a City of Clearwater community meeting, interviews with city officials and residents, and on-scene coverage by FOX 13 News.<\/p>\n

Clearwater<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEARWATER, Fla. – A major pedestrian route designed to help connect Clearwater Beach to Tampa is nearing completion,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1339,47,115,1157,135,137,136,628],"class_list":{"0":"post-142887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-clearwater","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-pinellas","12":"tag-tampa","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news","15":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}