The bridge, which is dedicated to General Daniel James Jr., opened to traffic on September 5, 2019, at which time it replaced the Sen. Philip D. Beall Sr. Bridge, a four-lane facility that ran parallel just to the east of the current structure, and on the same footprint of the eventual westbound structure.

The decommissioned original bridge served as two 1.5-mile-long fishing piers until they were largely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

All traffic was diverted to ferries, causing severe backups in both Gulf Breeze and downtown Pensacola.

The Florida Department of Transportation took the opportunity to modernize the bridge, adding emergency lanes and replacing barrier walls and lighting.

On September 15, a barge broke loose and got stuck under the bridge, causing it to temporarily close.