Shoot for the TV show "Top Gear USA" temporarily closes Gandy Bridge

The Friendship Trail Bridge was closed in November 2008 after engineers determined it was structurally unsafe.
Photographer: WFTS
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Posted: 11/27/2012

By: Meredyth Censullo

TAMPA - UPDATE:

Crowds and chaotic conditions forced producers of the hit show "Top Gear USA" to shut down shooting on the Gandy Bridge Tuesday. The shoot was scheduled to last until around 4PM.

According to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kristen Carson, the production company members went back to their hotel to regroup and consider other shooting locations.

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The Gandy Bridge will again be used in a supporting role for film and television.

The producers of the popular "Top Gear USA" program, which according to it's website "takes extraordinary and ordinary cars to the limit and beyond to find out if they’re half as good as manufacturers claim" plan to shoot sequences on the bridge.

Rolling roadblocks, used to temporarily stop traffic, are scheduled for the bridge. An exact schedule of the shooting and subsequent roadblocks isn't known, but delays of at least 10 minutes should be expected. To avoid any delays, use the Howard Frankland Bridge between Tampa and St. Petersburg.

The staging area for the crew is in the Tampa parking lot of the Friendship Trail Bridge.

If you are on or near the bridge, and snap any pictures, tweet them to @TampaBayTraffic .

The Gandy Bridge was also used in the spring for the movie "Spring Breakers," starring Selena Gomez and James Franco. The movie hasn't been released yet.