{{short description|Bridge in Florida, United States of America}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox bridge |bridge_name = Collins Bridge |native_name = |native_name_lang = |image = Collins Bridge Miami FL.jpg |image_size = 287px |alt = |caption = The opening of Collins Bridge, {{Circa|1913}} |official_name = |other_name = |carries = |crosses = Biscayne Bay |locale = Miami to Miami Beach |maint = |id = |designer = |design = Wooden truss |material = |pierswater = |length = {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} |width = |height = |mainspan = |spans = |load = |clearance = |below = |traffic = |builder = |begin = |complete = |open = 1913 |life = |preceded = |followed = Venetian Causeway |heritage = |collapsed = |closed = 1925 |toll = |map_cue = |map_image = |map_alt = |map_text = |map_width = |coordinates = {{Coord|25|47|21.18|N|80|11|20.77|W|display=it}} |lat = |long = |extra = }} The '''Collins Bridge''' was a bridge that crossed Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach, Florida. At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. It was built by farmer and developer John S. Collins (1837–1928) with financial assistance from automotive parts and racing pioneer Carl G. Fisher. Fisher, an auto parts magnate, loaned Collins $50,000 in 1911 (${{Inflation|US|1/20|1911|r=1}} million, adjusted for current inflation) to complete the bridge when Collins' money ran out.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://funandsun.com/1tocf/allgosf/mbf/collinsave.html |title=The Collins Avenue Story - Absolutely Florida |website=Funandsun.com |date=1913-06-12 |access-date=2016-01-24}}</ref> Collins, then 75 years old, traded Fisher {{convert|200|acre}} of land on Miami Beach for the loan.
The {{convert|2.5|mi|adj=on}} wooden toll bridge opened on June 12, 1913,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.miamibeach411.com/History/photo_collins_bridge_1.html |title=Collins Bridge - South Beach, Florida History Guide |publisher=Miami Beach 411 |date=1913-06-12 |access-date=2016-01-24}}</ref> providing a critical link to the newly established Miami Beach, formerly accessible only by a ferry service. The total cost of the Collins Bridge was in excess of $150,000.<ref name="FHN">{{cite web |url=http://www.floridahistorynetwork.com/june-12-1913-with-first-bridge-miami-beach-is-open-for-business.html |title=June 12, 1913: With first bridge, Miami Beach is open for business |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref> The middle of the bridge had a steel lattice truss design, while the ends were primarily wooden, as well as the deck being wooden for the entire length.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scholar.library.miami.edu/miamidigital/search/allGalleryPages.php?IDtitle=1119&objNo=000151&seqNo=0001&IDmainrecord=330 |title=Travel, Tourism and Urban Growth in South Florida: Image Search |access-date=2006-01-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711040844/http://scholar.library.miami.edu/miamidigital/search/allGalleryPages.php?IDtitle=1119&objNo=000151&seqNo=0001&IDmainrecord=330 |archive-date=2007-07-11}}</ref>
The original wooden causeway was replaced in 1925 by a series of arch drawbridges and renamed the Venetian Causeway.<ref name="FHN"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.miamibeach411.com/History/photo_collins_bridge_1.html Historical information]
Category:Bridges completed in 1913 Category:Bridges completed in 1925 Category:Former toll bridges in Florida Category:Lattice truss bridges in the United States Category:1913 establishments in Florida Category:1925 disestablishments in Florida Category:Road bridges in Florida Category:Wooden bridges in the United States Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Miami