Safety was in everyone's mind when a new Sunshine Skyway Bridge - an innovative cable stayed prestressed concrete structure �? was authorized across Florida's lower Tampa Bay. In 1980 a main span of one of the older twin bridges had collapsed during a catastrophic ship impact. The risk of a similar impact to the new bridge was evident due to wayward vessels not only in the area of the central channel but all along the crossing, thus creating an essentially shore-to-shore ship impact risk over a 4.18 mile (6.73 km) length. During design, a decision was made that advanced today's trends toward incorporating safety, reliability, and ease of maintenance into design criteria.
