The Gandy Bridge transformed travel between Tampa and St. Petersburg by reducing the distance between the two cities from 43 miles to 10 miles, improving travel and boosting St. Petersburg's economy. George Gandy began designing the bridge in 1913, but World War I stopped the project until after the war, when he partnered with Eugene Elliott to fund it by selling stock. Crews built the nearly 6-mile bridge from 1922 to 1924, and when it was finished the $3 million structure was one of the longest in the world. Drivers paid a 75-cent toll plus 10 cents per passenger until 1944, when the federal government took ownership of the motorway. Born in New Jersey, Gandy built a career in urban development and construction near Philadelphia before moving with his wife Clara and their five children to St. Petersburg in 1903, where he worked on a streetcar project with F.A. Davis, managed a utility company, built the La Plaza Theater, formed the Gandy Bridge Company in 1910, and ultimately completed the bridge at age 73, declaring at its dedication, "The bridge is built." A decorative tower, often mistaken for a tollbooth, marked the entrance to the original bridge from 1924 to 1996; one of four towers, it featured Spanish arches, a tile roof, and stucco walls, and after later relocations and restoration it reached Heritage Village in October 2017. The bridge expanded three times after 1924: a second crossing opened by 1956 to create one-way traffic flows, a third span replaced the original bridge in 1975, and a fourth and final span replaced the 1956 bridge in 1997. The older bridge was repurposed as the Friendship Trail for cyclists and pedestrians from 1999 to 2008 before closing because of safety concerns.