Billy's Creek Bridge
Bridge in Florida, United States of America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Billy's Creek Bridge is a historic vertical-lift bridge located just east of downtown Fort Myers, Florida. It carries a road previously part of State Road 80 (known as Palm Beach Boulevard on the west side and First Street on the east side) across Billy's Creek.
Billy's Creek Bridge | |
|---|---|
| |
| Coordinates | 26.6517°N 81.8567°W |
| Carries | First Street/Palm Beach Boulevard |
| Crosses | Billy's Creek |
| Locale | Fort Myers, Florida |
| Maintained by | Florida Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Vertical-lift bridge |
| History | |
| Opened | 1941 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Billy's Creek Bridge | |
The bridge was built in 1941. As a vertical lift bridge, it has four short towers that house the lift mechanisms, which is a unique design for lift bridges. The bridge has the distinction of being both the smallest vertical lift bridge in Florida and the only hydraulically-powered vertical lift bridge in Florida.[1] The lift has not been operational since 1987. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2013.[2]
The road and bridge carried westbound traffic only from the late 1980s until 2023.[3][4] While the road crossing the bridge is now under city control, the bridge is still maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation.[5]
