By 1926, it was plain that with the advent of the automobile that better roads would have to be built to accommodate this new mode of transportation. Between 1926 and 1931, Pensacola began to spread out in all directions. First of all, a bridge was built over the northern reaches of Escambia Bay on July 8, 1926 connecting Pensacola to Milton. This was the last connection required to complete the Old Spanish Trail between Pensacola and Jacksonville, Florida. The Pensacola News Journal reported that in the first twelve hours of operation over 10,000 motorists crossed the new bridge. The city of Mobile was experiencing a little expansion of their own and wished to open a more satisfactory road system between Mobile and Pensacola. They completed a bridge across Mobile Bay in 1927 although many of the connecting roads in Baldwin County were still in bad shape. Pensacola paved the road from their city limits to Lillian, Alabama, but had to wait for the construction of the new Lillian Bridge across Perdido Bay in 1932 to effectively connect the two large port cities.
Shortly after the new Lillian bridge was built, one of Pensacola’s young attorneys was killed at its entrance as he was returning from Mobile, Alabama. Mr. Joseph Leo Andersen was born in 1892 and was the son of Captain and Mrs. Lars Andersen. Leo was approaching the Lillian Bridge at a high rate of speed on November 5th of the same year. Whether he fell asleep at the wheel or just lost control will never be known, but for whatever reason, he ran off the road and overturned several times just east of the bridge. Without seat belts in those days Andersen was thrown from the car as soon as it left the pavement. A Foley doctor came upon the scene and attempted to give medical aid to Leo, but there was little he could do. As a last resort he put Leo in his own car, but alas the young man died enroute to the Pensacola Hospital. Leo graduated from Pensacola High School and went on to graduate from the University of Florida in 1919. He served in the US Navy during World War I and became the commander of the Frank Marston Pensacola Chapter of the American Legion.

Pensacola News Journal victim of the auto accident

J. Leo Andersen, US Navy, WWI