The Hernando Desoto Bridge is a bridge carrying U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 301 over the Manatee River between Palmetto and Bradenton, Florida. The Desoto Bridge is 40 feet (12 m) tall and carries four lanes. It is one of two bridges connecting Bradenton and Palmetto.^[2] The other is the Green Bridge located approximately one-half of a mile (0.80 km) downstream.

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Hernando DeSoto Bridge
View of Desoto Bridge from Bradenton Riverwalk
Coordinates	27°30′13″N 82°33′47″W
Carries	4 lanes of US 41 / US 301
Crosses	Manatee River
Locale	Palmetto and Bradenton, Florida
Official name	Hernando DeSoto Bridge
Other name(s)	DeSoto Bridge
Named for	Hernando de Soto
Owner	FDOT
Maintained by	FDOT
ID number	130053
Characteristics
Design	Girder
Material	Concrete, steel
Total length	2,334.4 ft (712 m)
Width	62 ft (19 m)
Longest span	105 ft (32 m)
No. of spans	33
Load limit	65 short tons (59.0 t)
Clearance below	40 ft (12 m)
No. of lanes	4
History
Opened	1957; 67 years ago (1957)
Statistics
Daily traffic	66,500 (2018)[1]
Toll	None
Location

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The Desoto Bridge was built in 1957 in an effort to realign US 41 and US 301 through Bradenton and Palmetto. Prior to 1957, those routes crossed the Manatee River a short distance downstream on the original Green Bridge (part of which has become a fishing pier after the Green Bridge was replaced in 1986).^[3][4]

Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is evaluating several options on replacing the bridge to increase its traffic capacity.^[5] More than one-third of vehicles crossing the bridge is pass-through traffic, drivers who do not have the cities of Bradenton or Palmetto as a point of origin or destination.

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