Due to the reputation of being a pet project of former Florida House Speaker Bolley "Bo" Johnson, D-Milton, who later went to federal prison for tax evasion, the bridge project was nicknamed "Bo's Bridge". It was completed in 1999 and in 2000, the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority asked for an $500,000 loan from the state despite having to delay paying back previous multimillion-dollar loans from the state. The loan was later denied in 2001. In 1996, URS Greiner Woodward Clyde, a consulting firm, made traffic volume projections based on the assumption that the Garcon Point Bridge would have traffic similar to a nearby bridge to Destin, a popular beach resort instead of the subdivisions that it actually connects. In 2000, the average daily traffic was only 3500 vehicles a day, far from the 7500 that URS projected. In 2000, Arthur Goldberg, the URS vice president who wrote the estimates for the Garcon Point Bridge, told the St. Petersburg Times, "We now know that . I don't think the Garcon Point Bridge will ever get back to the forecast we made for it in 1996." Odebrecht-Metric, the construction company who built the bridge, illegally dumped construction waste during the project, resulting in a $4 million fine for the company for violating the federal Clean Water Act. Three supervisors pleaded guilty and paid $1,000 in fines and served a probation.
Tolls and Proposed Rate Increase
Newest Toll Update: March 1st, 2020, Garcon Point Bridge Toll went up to $5.00 per two-axle vehicles, one way for nonSunpass holders. Sunpass toll rate is $4.50 for two-axle vehicles and an additional $4.50 for each additional axle, one way. Two axle vehicles using a SunPass transponder will receive a %25 discount on their Garcon Point Bridge toll transactions in any month they have 30 or more Garcon Point Bridge transactions. On 4 December 2019, A State judge ruled that the bridge bond holders, UMB Bank, could increase the toll from the current rate of $3.75 per vehicle to $5 per vehicle. Outdated information: There is one toll plaza at the north end of the bridge. Tolls may be paid with cash or with the SunPass electronic toll system. As of December 2018, the one-way cost for the toll for a 2-axle vehicle was $3.75. SunPass users who cross the bridge 30 times per month currently receive a credit for 50% of toll cost. In November, 2014, the trustees of the bridge project proposed raising the bridge toll to $5 each way and reducing the discount given to frequent users.
