{"id":25744,"date":"2025-10-29T22:03:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T22:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/25744\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T22:03:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T22:03:37","slug":"portion-of-popular-skyway-fishing-pier-shuts-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/25744\/","title":{"rendered":"Portion of popular Skyway fishing pier shuts down"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE \u2014\u00a0A portion of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridastateparks.org\/parks-and-trails\/skyway-fishing-pier-state-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">South Skyway Fishing Pier State Park<\/a> has been closed indefinitely after state officials discovered structural issues during a recent inspection.<\/p>\n<p>What You Need To Know<\/p>\n<p>The fishing pier is part of the original Sunshine Skyway bridge built in 1954<br \/>\n<br \/>A recent inspection by the Florida Department of Transportation found structural issues &#8211; the Department of Environmental Protection shut a portion of the pier down<br \/>\n<br \/>Fisherman say they want it repaired or replaced<\/p>\n<p>The Florida Department of Environmental Protection shut down access beyond the bait shop on Monday, following a report from the Florida Department of Transportation that identified safety concerns.<\/p>\n<p>The closure means vehicle and pedestrian traffic is now restricted to the northern section of the pier.<\/p>\n<p>The Skyway Fishing Pier is one of the most popular fishing spots in the Tampa Bay area, drawing locals and tourists year-round. For many, it\u2019s more than just a place to fish \u2014 it is part of their daily routine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI fish this bridge religiously. This is really my therapy,\u201d said Corbin Newman, who has been coming to the pier since he was five years old. \u201cI just hate that they\u2019re shutting this whole section down \u2014 all the good fishing is down there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allen Young, who works at the bait shop on the pier, said the structure, which was part of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge built in 1954, has long been a favorite for birdwatchers, tourists, and anglers alike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s really something for everybody,\u201d Young said. \u201cWhether you\u2019re birdwatching or just a tourist checking it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While parts of the pier remain open, regulars say it\u2019s not the same without full access. Newman and others hope the state will find a way to repair the damaged section and reopen it soon. \u201cIf the state doesn\u2019t want to fix it, maybe the people can pitch in,\u201d Newman said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE \u2014\u00a0A portion of the South Skyway Fishing Pier State Park has been closed indefinitely after&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[274,4029,7088,115,596,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,278,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-25744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-app-top-stories","9":"tag-jeff-van-sant","10":"tag-manatee-county","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pinellas-county","13":"tag-st-pete","14":"tag-st-pete-headlines","15":"tag-st-pete-news","16":"tag-st-petersburg","17":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","18":"tag-st-petersburg-news","19":"tag-tampa","20":"tag-top-stories","21":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25744","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=25744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}