PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — Not long after the westbound span opened on the Pensacola Bay Bridge Tuesday morning, police were giving out warnings and writing tickets.

“Our traffic unit was on the bridge early and they stopped 21 vehicles for moving violations in an hour and a half,” said Officer Mike Wood with the Pensacola Police Department.

This new bridge is wider than the old one. When you have a wider road, police say people tend to drive faster. The speed limit is 45 miles per hour but it’s 35 miles per hour closer to the ends of the bridge.

“With the history of the bridge, we’ve had very serious injuries,” Wood said. “We’ve had fatalities. We’ve already had one fatality on this current new bridge so we want people just to take their time going across that bridge. Do the speed limit because if you don’t, it can get quite expensive and dangerous.”

Right now, there are two lanes in each direction. That will eventually change to three for a total of six lanes. Police say they’ll be out there for the foreseeable future even if you don’t see them.

“Not all officers are in black and white vehicles,” Wood said. “We have officers out here in various makes and models of unmarked vehicles that are pacing cars going across the bridge both day and night.”

The bridge will remain an active construction zone, which means bigger fines until it’s all finished this summer.