Interstate 275 South - Sunshine Skyway to Southern Apex

Pinellas Point Drive ties into Interstate 275 at Exit 16. Leading east from Maximo Park, Pinellas Point Drive meanders through South St. Petersburg neighborhoods by Maximo Point and Pinellas Point on Tampa Bay.

04/14/20

The Interstate 275 roadways shift back ahead of Exit 16, the last departure point before the Sunshine Skyway Bridge toll plaza.

04/14/20

Exit 16 is a diamond interchange with Pinellas Point Drive at Sunshine Skyway Lane, a east side frontage road serving several condominium complexes on Tampa Bay.

04/14/20

Exit 16 descends between the mainline of I-275 and the entrance ramp for U.S. 19 (34th Street S) south. Maximo Park lies along the west side of the exchange with Pinellas Point Drive.

08/05/14

U.S. 19 combines with I-275 south across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to Tierra Ceia in Manatee County.

08/05/14

Omitting U.S. 19, this southbound reassurance shield for I-275 precedes the Dick Misener Bridge spanning a spur of the Intracoastal Waterway.

04/14/20

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge main line toll plaza along I-275 south lies beyond the Dick Misener Bridge.

04/14/20

The Sunshine Skyway comes into view along I-275/U.S. 19 south on the Dick Misener Bridge. The cable-stayed bridge opened in 1987.

05/18/19

08/30/14

Tolls for the Sunshine Skyway are collected at a six lane plaza with two all electronic tolling (AET) lanes for Sunpass and other in-network account holders.

04/14/20

The North Skyway Rest Area is home to Blackthorn Memorial Park, a monument commemorating the largest peacetime loss of life in United States Coast Guard History, the 1980 collision of the CGC Blackthorn (WLB-391) with the oil tanker S.S. Capricorn. The tragedy took place west of the former Sunshine Skyway crossing and North Skyway Fishing Pier.

04/14/20

Entering the unnumbered diamond interchange for the North Skyway Fishing Pier and Rest Area on I-275/U.S. 19 south. Extending 0.6 miles out into Tampa Bay, the fee-based North Skyway Fishing Pier is part of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

04/14/20

The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge stretches 4.1 miles across Tampa Bay. Graham was instrumental in the design and construction for the replacement of the prior cantilever spans. The span was officially renamed in 2005 after the former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator.

05/18/19

I-275/U.S. 19 proceed five miles southeast to the diamond interchange with the access roads for the South Skyway Fishing Pier and Rest Area.

04/15/22

The apex of the Sunshine Skyway lies midway across the 3.2 mile long stretch of I-275/U.S. 19 in Hillsborough County.

04/14/20

Cruise ships from Port Tampa Bay occasionally sail through the main channel below the Sunshine Skyway. With a maximum vertical clearance of 193 feet, the cable-stayed bridge is high enough to accommodate most ocean going vessels and cruise ships.

08/24/13

11 foot high fencing was added along a 1.5 mile long section of the Sunshine Skyway where the bridge is at an average of 50 feet or more above Tampa Bay. With installation complete on June 23, 2021, the goal of the protective fencing is to prevent suicides (Spectrum News 9, 2022).

04/15/22

Anchored by 42 steel cables, two 435-foot high towers support the Skyway bridge deck over the Tampa Bay shipping channel. A lighting system illuminates the cables.

05/18/19

08/24/13

04/15/22

Descending from the apex of the main span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the South Skyway Fishing Pier comes into view. Extending 1.6 miles into south Tampa Bay, the pier makes up the southern portion of the former crossing.

04/15/22

I-275/U.S. 19 arc southeast into Manatee County near the end of the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

04/15/22

The exit for the South Skyway Fishing Pier departs in one mile. Like its northern counterpart, a fee is accessed for use of the pier and its facilities.

04/15/22

The South Skyway Rest Area lies on the north side of I-275/U.S. 19 while the access road to the fishing pier runs 1.25 miles west to the entrance.

04/15/22

Interstate 275 south passes by the northbound toll plaza 0.75 miles ahead of the separation with U.S. 19 south to Palmetto.

04/15/22

U.S. 19 branches 2.8 miles south from I-275 to conclude at an exchange with U.S. 41 north at Memphis. U.S. 41 south partitions with U.S. 41 Business to Palmetto en route to Bradenton.

04/15/22

Two lanes separate from I-275 south for U.S. 19 at a wye interchange (Exit 5).

04/15/22

I-275 south continues 5.23 miles to converge with Interstate 75 ahead of Sarasota and Fort Myers.

04/15/22

Two miles out from a diamond interchange (Exit 2) with U.S. 41 along Interstate 275 south. The freeway crosses over the Terra Ceia River in 0.7 miles.

04/15/22

U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) heads southwest from I-275 to Palmetto in 5.3 miles and Bradenton in 7.2 miles.

04/15/22

U.S. 41 remains a rural highway north to Port Manatee and Ruskin in neighboring Hillsborough County.

04/15/22

Exit 2 leaves Interstate 275 south for U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) beyond a CSX Railroad underpass near Rubonia.

04/15/22

Interstate 275 southbound separates with the flyover for I-75 north back to Tampa in one mile.

04/15/22

The entrance ramp from U.S. 41 adds an auxiliary lane from Frog Creek east to the unnumbered exit for Interstate 75 north. The mainline defaults onto I-75 south ahead of Ellenton.

04/15/22

36th Avenue E (Ellenton-Gillette Road) spans I-275 south at the three-wye interchange with Interstate 75.

04/15/22

The flyover to I-75 north joins the freeway mainline ahead of Exit 229 with Moccasin Wallow Road (CR 683) to adjacent suburban development and the community of Parrish.

08/30/14

Interstate 75 travels south from the Tampa Bay area and I-275 through Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples to Alligator Alley across the Everglades.

04/15/22