In the next 10 to 15 years, the cruise ship industry will see little or no growth in the Bay area, according to a Florida Department of Transportation study.
The problem is attributed to large cruise ships not being able to fit under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
FDOT said they are exploring options to solve the problem.
According to FDOT, nearly 826,000 people took cruises out of Tampa in 2013. The department predicts that this year that number will be about 1.1 million.
The study looked at three options: do nothing and only receive ships that fit, build a new port in a different location, or replace the Skyway.
Bay area resident Neil Consentino says he has a better and more practical solution.
“We build a tunnel and that we dredge the new very large ship channel into Port Manatee,” said Consentino.
Basically, Consentino says when you are on the Manatee County side of the Skyway Bridge, before you come to the bridge there would be a tunnel under the water. Then it brings you back up to the start of the Skyway Bridge.
The portion of the area that is underwater would be where the large ships would travel over actually going around the Skyway instead of under it.
“The tunnel would not have to be a long tunnel," he said. "It just needs to go under the channel."
Consentino says if large cruise ships could make it past the Skyway, Port Manatee could be transformed into a booming global hub seaport.
“I think Bradenton would be built up to be one of the three sister cities of the bay,” said Consentino.
Consentino says our area cannot afford to lose the business.
“If we don’t, were no longer playing with the big guys," said Consentino. "Our community has so much potential that we just can’t accept that.”
So far FDOT has not explored Consentino’s option.
Consentino’s idea is similar to designs on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Both have been successful with transportation.