The bridge, which is dedicated to Sen. Phillip D. Beall Sr., opened to traffic on October 31, 1960, at which time it replaced the Thomas A. Johnson Bridge, a narrow two-lane facility that ran parallel just to the east. This original bridge, which had been in service since June 13, 1931, was tolled and was signed as TOLL US 98 until the bridge bonds were paid off. The decommissioned original bridge served as two 1.5-mile-long fishing piers until they were largely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. By 2007, the remainder of the northernmost fishing pier was demolished. Demolition has begun on the southernmost part of the fishing pier. In 2010, construction was completed on a northern replacement fishing pier about half as long as the original pier.