People type this a dozen ways: tampa to st petersburg, st petersburg to tampa, tampa fl to st petersburg fl, tampa st petersburg florida with no "to" in the middle. I treat all of them as one question. How far is it by road, and which road actually crosses the water?

The short version: FDOT's official mileage between the two cities is 20 miles, and the bay in the middle means your choice of bridge matters more than the number. This guide covers that number, the three bridges across Old Tampa Bay (only two of which are for this trip), what's happening on I-275 right now, and the routing mix-ups that send drivers to the wrong side of the water.

Last updated: November 2, 2026

How far is Tampa to St. Petersburg?

FDOT publishes the official highway mileage between Florida cities in its intercity mileage matrix, dated 9/14/2026. The department describes it in one line I kept: shortest distance between city pairs, used for mileage reimbursements.

By FDOT, Tampa to St. Petersburg is 20 miles. St. Petersburg to Tampa is also 20 miles. I'm using 20 because both directions say 20, not because I averaged anything. The same figure covers every variation of the search, whether you wrote tampa fl to st petersburg fl, st petersburg florida to tampa, or st petersburg florida to tampa florida.

Two things that number is not:

  • It is not a drive time. I'm not publishing a door-to-door estimate. Nobody official gives one, and traffic on the bay crossings varies.
  • It is not a neighborhood, airport, beach, or hotel distance. FDOT's matrix lists cities only. Brandon is not one of FDOT's cities. Wesley Chapel is not one of FDOT's cities. If you're asking how far St. Petersburg is from a Brandon inn or from Tampa International, there's no official mile for that, and I won't tack a guess onto the 20.

A few nearby pairs from the same matrix, kept as their own numbers:

| City pair | FDOT miles (each direction) | |---|---| | Tampa ↔ St. Petersburg | 20 | | St. Petersburg ↔ Clearwater | 20 | | St. Petersburg ↔ Sarasota | 37 | | St. Petersburg ↔ Lakeland | 53 | | St. Petersburg ↔ Orlando | 105 | | Tampa ↔ Orlando | 85 |

The St. Petersburg–Clearwater 20 is a different 20, along the Pinellas side, not a second copy of the bay crossing. And Orlando being "on the way" in someone's head doesn't make St. Petersburg a stop on the Tampa–Orlando number. Don't subtract one figure from another.

If you're still sorting out where everything sits, the Tampa map helps, and the Tampa Florida overview covers the bigger picture. St. Petersburg is a separate city on the peninsula across the bay, not a Tampa neighborhood.

The bay and the bridges

Old Tampa Bay is the water between these cities. Three bridges cross it, but only two of them connect Tampa and St. Petersburg.

  • W. Howard Frankland Bridge (I-275): the central bridge from St. Petersburg to Tampa and by far the most traveled of the bay's bridges.
  • Gandy Bridge (US 92): the southernmost crossing, also running between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
  • Courtney Campbell Causeway (SR 60): the northernmost crossing, and the wrong bridge for this trip. It carries SR 60 between Clearwater and Tampa.

If a map app offers the Courtney Campbell, it's sending you toward Clearwater's side of the bay. That's fine if Clearwater is your destination (see the Tampa to Clearwater guide), but it has no place in the St. Petersburg mileage.

I-275 express lanes and the new bridge

For the current Howard Frankland, I trust FDOT's own construction project, because it names both cities. The details I kept from it:

  • Project: 422904-2-52-01, a new bridge
  • Limits: 4th Street in Pinellas to SR 60 in Hillsborough
  • Length: 5.8 miles
  • Cost: $973.4 million
  • Started: spring 2020
  • Estimated completion: late 2026
  • Contractor: Archer Western/Traylor Bros.

Express lanes. FDOT says the new express lanes are open on I-275 across the new bridge. They run from 4th Street North in St. Petersburg to just north of the bridge in Tampa, in the median, separated by barrier walls and flexible plastic poles. As of August 22, 2026, tolls are collected electronically 24 hours a day through SunPass. Only passenger vehicles, registered vanpools, and buses are allowed.

FDOT's materials I checked don't give a dollar amount, so I won't quote one. Confirm current toll information with FDOT before you drive. General-use lanes remain available beside the express lanes, so you aren't forced into the toll. A rental car shouldn't wander into the express lanes just because there's a gap in the plastic poles. Unless you mean to pay a SunPass toll, stay in the general-use lanes.

Speed limits. FDOT says the posted speed on the bridge is 65 mph, effective August 22, 2026, and 55 mph on either side because the approaches are still work zones.

Which way is "southbound"? In 2025 FDOT put the new southbound I-275 bridge into service. The 1990s bridge, which FDOT says originally connected Tampa to St. Petersburg, was converted to northbound, and the 1960s bridge was removed. The interstate is signed north and south, while the cities sit east and west of each other across the bay. "Southbound" on this bridge is not a drive toward Naples. Follow the signs for St. Petersburg or Tampa, not the compass in your head.

Walking and biking. A shared-use path of nearly seven miles, 12 feet wide, debuted on the north side of the bridge. It's open sunrise to sunset, from the north end of 4th Street in St. Petersburg and the south end of Reo Street in Tampa. More connections, including Ulmerton Road and another tie at 4th Street North, plus more at Reo Street, are separate projects still being built.

Three different measurements. The 5.8-mile bridge project, the nearly seven-mile path, and the 20-mile city pair are all separate figures. Don't merge them into one "about six miles across."

Closures. When I checked, FDOT had scheduled overnight closures on the bridge between Hillsborough and Pinellas, Sunday, October 5 through Saturday, October 10, 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. That was a scheduled window, not something I watched happen. Check FDOT for anything current before you go.

Gandy Bridge (US 92)

Gandy is the southernmost of the three, spans Old Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg to Tampa, carries US 92, and is maintained by FDOT. It's almost three miles long: 14,859 feet eastbound and 13,886 feet westbound. Those lengths describe the bridge, not the trip, so don't add them to FDOT's 20.

A bit of history, kept as history: the 1924 bridge cut the Tampa–St. Petersburg distance from 43 miles to 19. Today's official pair is 20, so don't treat 19 or 43 as a current figure. The eastbound span in use is the 1975 bridge, and the westbound span is the 1997 bridge. The old Friendship Trail span is gone, with demolition finished as of July 2016. There has been talk of a possible fifth span, with a design phase to begin sometime in 2025, but nobody has told me a new Gandy span is under construction, so I won't say one is.

Current work. FDOT District Seven has a bridge repair project on the eastbound US 92 bridge over Old Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County. It started November 3, 2025, costs $2.9 million, and is estimated to finish in early 2027. Repairs are underneath and aren't expected to affect traffic on Gandy Boulevard. If a lane closure is needed, FDOT says it would run 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. When I checked, no closures were scheduled.

FDOT files that project under Tampa, not St. Petersburg, even though the bridge's other end is St. Petersburg. Seeing only "Tampa" on the project listing, you might decide Gandy is a Tampa-side street job. It's the other St. Petersburg bridge.

Gandy is a real Tampa–St. Petersburg crossing, but I can't tell you it's faster or slower than the Howard Frankland, because I have no current travel time for it.

The wrong-turn problem: three "St. Petersburg" signs

Most of the confusion comes from three different roads that all seem to point at St. Petersburg.

1. Howard Frankland, I-275. The central, busiest bridge, with new express lanes that toll and that don't allow trucks or big RVs. The project isn't finished until late 2026, and the approaches are still at 55. 2. Gandy, US 92. The southern bridge, with an eastbound repair that's supposed to stay under the deck. 3. I-275 from farther south. This one isn't a Tampa crossing at all. North of Ellenton, I-275 splits from I-75 to serve St. Petersburg and Pinellas via the Sunshine Skyway, and Tampa via the Howard Frankland. The exit list puts I-275 north toward St. Petersburg at exit 228.

Farther north, after I-75 has bypassed the bay through Brandon, exit 274 at Wesley Chapel is I-275 south toward Tampa, St. Petersburg, and the airport. It's the same interstate number with two different ends and two different bridges. I-75 itself stays east, past Brandon, the Selmon at exit 256, and I-4 at exit 261.

If you follow I-75 "toward St. Petersburg" without reading the exit, you can miss the bay entirely or come in over the Skyway from the south. Read the exit, pick the bridge on purpose, and don't treat a Brandon hotel or a Wesley Chapel exit as if it were inside that 20 miles.

Heading to a Rays game

St. Petersburg is where Tropicana Field is, not Tampa. If you're staying in Tampa and driving over for a Rays game, you're making exactly this trip. The Tropicana Field guide covers the ballpark itself. If you're arriving by air first, the Tampa International Airport guide covers that end of things. The ballpark's own site, MLB.com's Rays ballpark page, is the place to check for game-day details.

Budget for the crossing on game day without leaning on any number from me. I don't have a verified drive time, and bridge traffic varies.

Tips before you drive

  • Use 20 miles as a city-to-city reference only. It's FDOT's reimbursement distance, not a measurement to your hotel or the ballpark.
  • Choose your bridge on purpose. Howard Frankland (I-275) is the main crossing, and Gandy (US 92) is the southern option.
  • Skip the Courtney Campbell unless you're actually going to Clearwater.
  • Stay in the general-use lanes on I-275 unless you intend to pay the SunPass express-lane toll.
  • Expect 55 mph on the approaches and 65 mph on the bridge itself.
  • Check FDOT for closures before you leave, especially overnight.

FAQ

How far is Tampa from St. Petersburg? FDOT's official intercity mileage is 20 miles between Tampa and St. Petersburg, and the same 20 in the other direction. It's a city-to-city figure used for mileage reimbursement, not a distance to a specific address.

How long does it take to drive from Tampa to St. Petersburg? I don't have an official drive time, and I won't invent one. Traffic across Old Tampa Bay varies, so check a live traffic source before you leave.

Which bridges connect Tampa and St. Petersburg? The W. Howard Frankland Bridge (I-275) and the Gandy Bridge (US 92). The Courtney Campbell Causeway (SR 60) connects Tampa and Clearwater, not St. Petersburg.

Do the I-275 express lanes cost money? Yes. As of August 22, 2026, FDOT says tolls on the express lanes are collected electronically 24 hours a day through SunPass. FDOT's materials I checked don't list a dollar amount, so confirm current tolling with FDOT. General-use lanes are still available.

Is Tropicana Field in Tampa? No. Tropicana Field is in St. Petersburg, a separate city on the peninsula across the bay from Tampa.