Vehicle fire shuts down southbound lanes of Sunshine Skyway Bridge 

A vehicle fire shut down the southbound lanes of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge on Tuesday night, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

Traffic headed from Pinellas County to Manatee County came to a halt as emergency response arrived at the scene. Cars were backed up from the bridge to the rest area north of the Skyway .

The Florida Department of Transportation reported the incident shortly before 6:30 p.m.

As of about 7:30 p.m., traffic had begun to move again as the blockage was reduced down to the left lane. However, traffic remained congested for about three miles, according to FDOT.

All lanes of the bridge were reopened as of 8 p.m.

No other details about the incident were immediately available.

This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 7:49 PM.