Santa Rosa Sound is a sound connecting Pensacola Bay and Choctawhatchee Bay in Florida . The northern shore consists of the Fairpoint Peninsula and portions of the mainland in Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County . It is bounded to the south by Santa Rosa Island (also known as Okaloosa Island in the easternmost region of the sound), separating it from the Gulf of Mexico .
8-621: The Brooks Bridge is a four-lane steel and concrete structure that carries highway U.S. Route 98 (US 98) over Santa Rosa Sound (mile 223 of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway ) just west of the Choctawhatchee Bay between downtown Fort Walton Beach, Florida and the 3-mile-long (4.8 km) section of Okaloosa Island controlled by the city of Fort Walton Beach. It is named for John Thomas Brooks, who, in 1868, purchased 111 acres of what
16-540: A pair of bridges. A "rehab job" on the 50-year-old structure was underway by the FDOT in April 2015. "What we're doing there is some work to extend the lifespan of the bridge," DOT district spokesman Ian Satter said. "They're working with the bearings on the bridge, which we do maintenance on throughout all of our bridges in the district." Crews are also installing some "additional support mechanisms," Satter said. The work, which
24-418: Is being done under the bridge with help from a large barge, is expected to last until mid- to late May 2015. Brooks Bridge has been deemed structurally deficient and is currently being replaced. Santa Rosa Sound The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between Pensacola Beach and Fort Walton Beach is routed through the sound. Three bridges carry pedestrian and automobile traffic to the barrier islands on
32-404: Is now downtown Fort Walton Beach. The area on the north side of the sound where the bridge connects was known as Brooks Landing. It has a charted clearance of 50 feet (15 m) above the water. Constructed in 1965–1966, it replaced a 1935-vintage low-level steel through-truss center-pier swing-span structure immediately west of the current bridge which had become increasingly unreliable with age,
40-553: The bridge (mainland side, followed by island side) and center span clearances above mean sea level, are: 30°24′07″N 86°46′37″W / 30.4019171°N 86.7768273°W / 30.4019171; -86.7768273 . This article about a location in Okaloosa County , Florida is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in Santa Rosa County , Florida
48-559: The center-pivoting span having been known to get stuck in the open position while allowing for transit of maritime traffic. Removal of the steel work and the old concrete pivot pier began in March 1966 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the new Brooks Bridge reached completion with removal taking about three weeks. As the only local crossing of the Santa Rosa Sound, it is subject to traffic congestion. Vehicular speed limits on
56-537: The south side of the sound. The first two bridges have the lowest clearance of any span over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway . For this reason, many sailboats with masts taller than 50 feet must "go outside" and bypass the protected sound using the unprotected waters of the Gulf of Mexico . From west to east, the bridges crossing Santa Rosa Sound, including the names of communities on both sides of
64-470: The span are 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) eastbound and 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) westbound. An additional bridge between Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island has been discussed for many years. On December 20, 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation announced it had begun planning for the replacement of the 47-year-old bridge. In April 2015 the FDOT announced another proposal for
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