It became known as the Friendship Trail Bridge and was demolished in 2016, after closing in 2008 due to hazardous conditions and several failed efforts to preserve the span.

Fuller prepared a map including a proposed bridge that would cross upper Tampa Bay following the route of Ninth Street North in St. Petersburg.

Its location enabled travel by auto along the route of the world's first scheduled airline flight, which operated between Tampa and Saint Petersburg for six months in 1914.

Efforts to preserve the bridge for recreational purposes were not supported by the Pinellas County Commission, which felt the idea was too expensive, too dangerous, and unnecessary.

"[8] In 1956 a second slightly higher, fixed span was added to the Gandy Bridge to serve westbound traffic.

Years before, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) deemed the bridge structurally deficient to vehicular traffic unless costly repairs were made.

FDOT initially planned to demolish the middle section of the bridge (including the hump) and leave the remaining fishing pier segments intact.

On November 6, 2008, the Friendship Trail was shut down "indefinitely" (though the ends remained open) after a state inspection determined that there were significant structural problems with the bridge's superstructure.

However, the inspection yielded that the corrosion of the superstructure had worsened and that the overall condition of the bridge was no longer suitable to keep it open due to safety issues.

With the state and the nation in recession, county governments saw no way to meet the staggering costs, leaving the trail likely closed for good.

[10] December 20, 2008 a report done by Kisinger Campo & Associates and SDR Engineering Consultants showed that the bridge could potentially collapse due to the amount of decay on the structure.

[11] Immediately after the report was released, Hillsborough and Pinellas County officials decided to close the entire bridge permanently.

[12] The report suggested the following: In May 2009, the initial estimates were revised:[11] After a series of meetings in May, June, and July 2009, the Friendship Trail bridge oversight committee voted to explore the $15 million option to retrofit the entire bridge, which would add about 10 years to its lifespan, with supporters hoping that it would be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

[14] In April 2011, Hillsborough County Commission voted to delay the demolition in order to give a group of citizens 30 days to come up with a viable plan to repair and re-open the bridge[15] On June 27, 2012, the Hillsborough County Commission voted to allow the group more time to evaluate their options for the bridge.

It would also allow the commission to decide on a plan to possibly present a referendum to voters in November to hike the property tax to fund park improvements.