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The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster

Added 2022-12-20 11:15:00 +0000 UTC

As always, here are just a few of the notes and errata I accumulated while researching this story...

Naming the Sunshine Skyway

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge was very nearly given a different name. I mention in the video that it was named by a competition... and some of the entries give the bridge a rather different character.

This article lists some "notable rejects", which include: the Magic Carpet, the Loveland Span, the Pearly Gates, the Glory Road, the Alladin’s Ramp and the Garden of Eden.

Personally, I think they made the right decision going with Sunshine Skyway!

It was, by the way, a suggestion by the owner of a nearby resort, who was rewarded with an engraved watch and a plaque at a ceremony before the opening of the bridge. You can see a picture of him, and some more pictures of the opening ceremonies here.

The sole survivor

The sole survivor of those who entered the water in this disaster was Wesley MacIntire. He was quite a remarkable man in a number of ways. Apart from anything else, this wasn't the only time he'd been the sole survivor of a deadly experience.

During the war, Mr MacIntire had been part of the Allied Invasion at Normandy. Every single other soldier in his landing craft was killed, but he managed to survive. Later in life he came through several car crashes and a fall from the roof of his house with only minor injuries.

Of course, while he got through the disaster without lasting physical injury, the memory and the trauma of the experience stayed with him for the rest of his life. Until his passing in 1989, he would often travel out to the bridge on the anniversary of the disaster each year to wave to the 7:30am Greyhound Bus as it crossed.

You can read more about Mr MacIntire's extraordinary life in this article, which paints a fuller picture of an incredible man.