‘Amazing’ bridge over Harbor River opens, but what about the old one?
A new, $77 million bridge over the Harbor River opened to traffic Monday, called an engineering feat at 3,000 feet long and 65 feet high — the state’s largest project in its 10-year bridge replacement plan.
“This is an amazing bridge,” said Christy Hall, South Carolina’s Department of Transportation secretary as state and local officials gathered on its deck to mark its opening to traffic Monday afternoon.
The new, modern Harbor River Bridge on U.S. 21 is the only land bridge connecting the mainland and Harbor, Hunting and Fripp islands. It was designed and constructed by Great Falls-based United Infrastructure Group.
Hall said it’s tall for a reason: It will allow shrimp boats to pass easily underneath.
And it replaces a structurally deficient and functionally obsolete 82-year-old swing-span bridge that had provided the only means for vehicular transportation from the mainland to the islands.
Average daily traffic over the river is 6,200 vehicles, according to SCDOT.
Hall noted that U.S. 21 serves as a critical hurricane evacuation route for coastal Beaufort County, and the old bridge had experienced washouts and damage during prior hurricane seasons.
The new bridge is the latest piece of the state’s plan to replace hundreds of structurally deficient bridges across the state, Hall said.
“The panoramic view is just astounding,” state Sen. George E. “Chip” Campsen III, R-Charleston, said from the middle of the bridge overlooking St. Helena Sound and the Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin.
Campsen noted that the old swing bridge will be removed and utilized as an artificial reef 55 miles offshore which will improve fisheries habitat.
And discussions are underway to use the decks of the bridge in near-shore reefs as well, Campsen said.
Construction began in April 2019. The project faced permitting, design and construction challenges, not to mention a pandemic and hurricane, but still was completed 60 days ahead of schedule, said Jim Triplett, CEO of United Infrastructure Group.
“How often does that happen?” Triplett said.
The new bridge has two 12-foot-wide traffic lanes, in addition to 10-foot-wide shoulders, compared to the old bridge, which had two, 11-foot-wide lanes with no shoulders, said Billy Hardwick, United Infrastructure Group’s project manager.
Demolition of the old bridge will begin Tuesday, Triplett said.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 4:11 PM.
