Coast Guard moves to limit Beaufort bridge openings. Who likes it, who doesn’t?
Drivers love the idea, sailboat skippers don’t.
The Coast Guard is inviting feedback on a proposed permanent change to the operation of the Woods Memorial Bridge that would have the swing bridge remain open to vehicle traffic for longer periods during morning and afternoon drive times.
Thousands of motorists use the often-malfunctioning bridge daily, which crosses the Beaufort River, and they are largely in favor of the idea that keeps the road open. Boaters using the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway decry the plan as creating an impediment to accessing the Beaufort waterfront.
The bridge serves two differing constituencies
The Woods Memorial Bridge connects downtown Beaufort to Lady’s Island. It’s one of two bridges in the area that connect with Lady’s Island and the Sea Islands. The other bridge is located in Port Royal.
Under the Coast Guard plan, the swing bridge won’t open to boat traffic — except for emergencies — from 6 a.m. to 9:29 a.m. and 3:31 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Between 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the draw would open once an hour on the half-hour for boat traffic as needed. At all other times, the bridge will be open by a signal, or demand, from boat operator looking to pass. Smaller vessels that don’t need the bridge to open to pass will still be able to do so at any time.
Impacts on water and land
The plan will affect traffic on land and water.
In 2022, the bridge was opened for marine traffic 1,669 times to allow commercial and recreational traffic to travel the Intracoastal Waterway and park their boats at the Beaufort marina, with traffic highest in the fall and spring when East Coast travelers are moving north or south with the weather.
On land, some 14,000 cars cross the bridge daily, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation, which operates the bridge.
But when the bridge is open, the link between the outlying islands and downtown Beaufort is closed, causing 8 to 10 minutes delays for a single boat and longer for multiple vessels with congestion coming on both sides of the bridge.
Improvements to traffic flow
The proposed change is intended to reduce vehicular traffic congestion and provide a more consistent operating schedule for the bridge, the Coast Guard said in a notice of the proposal published in the Federal Register Friday.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation, at the urging of the city of Beaufort and Beaufort County, requested that the Coast Guard change the bridge opening schedule due to complaints about traffic congestion.
In March, the Coast Guard announced it would test a modified scheduled in March for six months. Now it is proposing to make the change permanent and is accepting public comments.
Plan has support
Comments are coming in both for and against the proposal, according to comments posted in the Federal Register.
Laura Hamm said she works for the state Department of Social Services, which is about 2-3 minutes from downtown Beaufort and the swing bridge. When the temporary restrictions went into place in March, she said, she noticed better flow in traffic getting to and from work.
“Additionally, as this is an older bridge which keeps having malfunctions, the operating time deviation allows a lot of the heavier morning traffic to get through the area more efficiently and keeps the bridge from having so much stopped weight on it for even longer periods of time,” Hamm wrote.
Boaters, Geri Connors wrote in her comments, should not be given priority over motorists and residents who drive across the bridge for work, doctor’s appointments, shopping and supporting local businesses.
“Give residents here a break,” Connors said. “Specify limited times boaters can come through. Not every hour!”
Plan is opposed
Opponents include Cass Roby, who commented, “Sailboats will be skipping this area. We will all go outside from Hilton Head to Charleston heading north and vise versa heading south. Too bad Beaufort. Why not redirect traffic over through Port Royal using the McTeer bridge. Not that much out of the way. Serious mistake all cruising forums are saying to skip Beaufort, SC.”
The Marina Trawler Owners Association, a boating organization of more than 2,000 members, says it’s a bad idea.
Since 1985, the opening schedule already has favored the needs of people traveling on land, said Ken Chumley, the group’s president. Vessels traveling from Charleston and Savannah transiting through Beaufort will encounter lengthy closures, he said. He predicted a decrease in safety on the waterway because more vessels will operate when in darkness. The changes, he added, set a dangerous precedent for the network of federal intracoastal waterways.
“This risk increases proportionally as the time between openings increases,” Chumley wrote.
Busiest months
The swing bridge’s busiest months are April-May and November-December. During those months, the bridge opens on average 200 times to accommodate boat traffic traveling between states in northeast and warmer climates in the south.
“The Coast Guard understands the increase in seasonal vessel traffic and also acknowledges an increase in seasonal vehicle traffic,” the agency said. “The area is known for moderate currents, however, there is staging areas on either side of the bridge for vessels to maintain station. The requested changes should simplify the current operating schedule, allow for a more consistent and efficient operation of the bridge and provide relief to vehicle traffic congestion while meeting the reasonable needs of navigation.”
The traffic problems associated with the bridge have been an issue for years. In 1994, at the request of city of Beaufort and Beaufort County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studied the idea of building a new bridge with a fixed span that would allow boat passage without closing the bridge. That was the same year the film “Forrest Gump” was released. The film featured the city’s iconic bridge.
Frustration has grown in recent years as the aging bridge has experienced malfunctions causing even more delays than usual.
The bridge opened in 1959 and was placed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places in January 2023.
To comment
The Coast Guard is asking for comments on this rule change in the Federal Register https://www.regulations.gov. Type USCG-2024-0198 in the search box and click “Search.” Next, look for this document in the Search Results column, and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. The Coast Guard is encouraging all public comment to be made by Dec. 9.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 1:11 PM.
