State Road 300 spans the waterway joining Apalachicola Bay with St. George Sound south from Eastpoint to St. George Island in coastal Franklin County. The bulk of the 5.36 mile route crosses the Bryant Grady Patton Bridge from east of Cat Point to west of Bulkhead Point.
County Road 300 (Gulf Beach Drive) spurs 4.22 miles east from the south end of SR 300 at St. George Island Lighthouse to the entrance of Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park.
The original Bryant-Patton Bridge connecting the Franklin County mainland with St. George Island opened to traffic on December 17, 1965. The 4.6 mile route cost $3.3 million to build. Tolls were charged at a rate of $2.00 per passenger vehicle.1 The replacement Bryant Patton Bridge was completed on February 13, 2004. Costing $74 million, the 4.1 mile long span was designed to reduce ecological impacts for Apalachicola Bay and its thriving oyster producing habitat. The bridge accommodates two 12 foot lanes of traffic with 11 foot wide shoulders in each direction. It crests at 65 feet, 15 feet higher than the previous crossing.2
North
The first two blocks of SR 300 along Franklin Boulevard partition between a one way couplet.
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A former shield for SR 300 north on Franklin Boulevard.
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A man-made island remains from the footprint of the previous Bryant Patton Bridge to the east.
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A portion of the old bridge from the north was retained as a fishing pier.
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South
The first confirming marker for SR 300 stands along Island Drive south between U.S. 98/319 and Creamer Street.
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Unsigned CR 65 ties into SR 300 from S Bay Shore Drive southeast from U.S. 98/319 at Magnolia Bluffs.
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A section of the former Bryant Patton Bridge from St. George Island was also converted to a fishing pier.
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SR 300 splits into a one way couplet along Franklin Boulevard for two blocks on St. George Island.
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State maintenance ends where Franklin Boulevard intersects Gulf Beach Drive (CR 300).
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East
County Road 300 commences along Gulf Beach Drive eastbound from the south end of SR 300 (Franklin Boulevard).
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A reassurance marker for Franklin County Road 300 was posted just east of Franklin Boulevard. It was removed after 2011.
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West
CR 300 (Gulf Beach Drive) west at the unmarked intersection with SR 300 (Franklin Boulevard) north.
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- "St. George Island Toll Bridge to Open." St. Petersburg Times (FL), December 17, 1965.
- "Rain Delays Bridge Debut." Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) , February 13, 2004.
Photo Credits:
07/31/06, 06/21/09, 06/27/09 by AARoads
Connect with:
U.S. 98
Page Updated 03-22-2021.