Old Florida Bridge Turned Into Artificial Reef

ST. PETERSBURG (CBSMiami/AP) — There's a new bridge in Pinellas County, Florida and that's good news for drivers and boaters, but it's the sea life underneath the bridge that are really benefitting.

Forty-ton concrete sections from the old Pinellas Bayway bridge have been dropped into the Gulf of Mexico to form an artificial reef site. The new reef is about 1,200 feet long and 15 feet high in waters about 45 feet deep.

The Tampa Bay Times reports the reef site is one of 43 along the gulf coast in Pinellas County.

The concrete is cleaned and stripped of anything harmful or toxic to the oceanic environment, such as plastics, rubber or materials with toxic chemicals.

Experts say concrete structures are possibly the best possible artificial reef materials.

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