Sunshine Skyway Bridge is closing Sunday. But there will be heavy pedestrian traffic

The inaugural Skyway 10K Sunday morning will be the first race across the bridge since it opened to traffic in April 1987.

The sold-out Skyway 10K: Saluting Military Families will benefit the Armed Forces Families Foundation.

Participants in the Skyway 10K must arrive at Tropicana Field to board buses to get to and from the Skyway Bridge. There will be no other access to the start or finish line. Parking at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg is free.

Bag-check begins at 4 a.m., and buses begin loading at 4:30 a.m. Buses will depart when full.

Participants will be bussed from Tropicana Field to the south end of the Bridge and picked up by buses on the north end of the Bridge to return to Tropicana Field for the awards ceremony.

At 6:05 a.m., the opening ceremonies are scheduled to begin and will include the presentation of colors and the singing of the national anthem.

At about 6:17 a.m., the U.S. Army National Guard is scheduled to kick off the race by firing a blank howitzer artillery shell.

Runners not past the southern base of the incline of the Skyway Bridge by 9:15 a.m. or on any other part of the bridge by 9:30 a.m. will be asked to board a bus and will be returned to Tropicana Field.

The last time anyone ran or walked across the bridge was in January 1987 before the bridge opened to traffic.

Road closures

Residents in the area can expect the northbound lanes of the Skyway Bridge to be closed from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday.

Additionally, Fourth Avenue South near Tropicana Field will not be available for public access between MLK and 16th Street from 3 a.m. until 11 a.m. as the traffic flow will be reversed for busing.

The southbound side of the Skyway Bridge will remain only southbound, and anyone needing to go northbound across the bridge will need to make other arrangements between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m., officials said.

There will be no access to the Skyway Bridge fishing piers on Sunday from midnight until after 10 a.m.

More than 7,000 runners have registered from 40 states and three countries, and all five branches of the armed forces will be represented in the Inaugural Skyway 10K Bridge Run.

All proceeds will go to support the Armed Forces Families Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides funds for projects to help military families.

Business impact

Thousands of people from 40 different states and three different countries are in the Tampa Bay area this weekend for the inaugural Skyway 10K race, which means local business are hoping to benefit from the extra “foot traffic.”

Managers at “Fit 2 Run” in St. Pete say this weekend will be like Black Friday for them. The store is hosting a major tent sale, hoping the runners will come check things out and celebrate the event.

“From a local standpoint from having a training group, we’ve had people coming to our store three times a week just to get trained, but as far as race weekend itself, we’re super excited we’re going to be having a tent sale here at the store,” manager Gabe Albaladejo said.

About the Foundation

The race is not only an exciting opportunity to walk or run across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but it’s also a way to support our military members.

The Skyway 10K benefits the Armed Forces Families Foundation which is run by volunteers and donates 100 percent of its proceeds to projects that help military families.

Navy Veteran Jeff Gillette traveled to Tampa Bay from Georgia to volunteer at the race.

“This is why I served for 20 years, so people can get together and support and bring people together,” Gillette said. “When I was in, we didn’t have organizations like this to help support the families. That was always one of our concerns when we got deployed, what does our family have for a support mechanism.”

The Armed Forces Families Foundation has built playgrounds, USO locations, and other infrastructure projects.

“In one case there was an internet center that we built and a mom had her husband and son deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and was able to talk to them the first time live by Skype,” Thaddeus Foster with the Armed Forces Families Foundation said.

Foundation board members said that support wouldn’t be possible without the thousands of people who’ve signed up to race and honor those who’ve risked so much.

“To me it’s a sign of how much people love this country, love the freedoms we have, and appreciate the people who are on the front lines protecting those freedoms for us every day,” Foster said.

So far, the foundation has raised close to $2 million and they hope to raise another $500,000 this weekend.

Skyway 10K Facebook page

This story was originally published March 3, 2018 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Sunshine Skyway Bridge is closing Sunday. But there will be heavy pedestrian traffic."