John Ringling Causeway is an excellent way to get from St. Armands Circle to the Bayfront Sarasota, that'll take approximately 5 to 7 minutes driving. The causeway has a long history, going back to 1925 when it was first open, then to 1959 when it was rebuilt as a four-lane drawbridge, and since 2003 it's been a modern, high-span bridge, that handles heavy traffic on a daily basis. It is also a walking bridge, good for those who like to exercise and enjoy scenic views. And the views are really wonderful, even if it is just Sarasota Bay all around! ... I think, John Ringling Causeway is also a perfect way to get to downtown Sarasota, say from Lido Beach , via St Armands circle. Very convenient, very practical, very quick drive.

Walking across the bridge from Downtown SARASOTA to St. Armand’s Circle is an easy strolling about 2.5 miles each way. The view, the water, the sun.

Why not? We have been walking all the beautiful beaches and decided to check out Bird Key Park. It included the option to walk across the bridge that we had driven across many times on our trip. It is only 1/2 mile across although a little bit of an incline. The view was wonderful! The history of the bridge is interesting too but will leave that to others or google!

Circus owner and developer John Ringling built the original bridge spanning Sarasota Bay from Sarasota, Florida, to St. Armands Key in 1926. He had purchased St. Armands Key to develop residential lots and a shopping center, which became the luxurious St. Armands Circle. Around 1950, Ringling's original bridge began to show that it couldn't adequately handle increased traffic to the barrier islands. So the State Road Department replaced the bridge with a four-line drawbridge, which opened for traffic in 1959. Around 2000, the drawbridge began to suffer the same fate as its predecessor. So the current John Ringling Causeway opened in 2003 at a cost of $68 million. The four-lane, segmental box girder, 65-foot-tall, 3,097-foot-long bridge handles over 35,000 vehicles and pedestrians daily. It is a beautiful structure, a piece of architecture that John Ringling couldn't imagine in the 1920s.