Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Terra Ceia, Florida
United States

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge has stood as an iconic presence on the Lower Tampa Bay since its opening in 1987. Every night for three decades, however, this four-mile landmark structure has disappeared into the darkness. To create a signature nighttime presence for the Skyway, HLB designed a new dynamic lighting system that highlights the grandeur of the bridge by revealing its substructure, washing the sizable piers in light, and illuminating the silhouette of the dramatic roadway span with delicate necklace lights.

With input from local Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) stakeholders, HLB developed programming scenarios for the dynamic lighting installation, centered around images evocative of the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Each pier and each necklace light can be separately controlled, paving the way for the creation of detailed, kinetic programs. Together these dynamic scenes create a rotating collections of lighting programs that dazzle locals, tourists, motorists and boaters every night of the week.