New Cooper River Bridge a year ahead of schedule.

SCDOT Project Update ^ | 1/20/2005 | SCDOT Project Update

[SC Swamp Fox]

A year ahead of schedule, the new bridge plans to open in May or June of 2005

A year ahead of projected completion date, the new Cooper River Bridge construction team expects to have the bridge open to traffic in May or June of 2005. The exact date of the dedication and opening event will not be able to be projected until March or April. As soon as the opening date and the public events associated with the opening are planned, we will post the information on this website.

[SC Swamp Fox]

On another thread I was reading about all of the problems and cost over-runs on the new SF Bay bridge. I did a google search to find the status of the new Cooper River Bridge and found this.

[taxesareforever]

Here's a link to the new Narrows Bridge being built between Tacoma and Gig Harbor.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge/

[visualops]

I miss Charleston.
Such a wonderful city.

[SC Swamp Fox]

Some great images of the bridge construction can be found here.

[SC Swamp Fox]

Check out the link in post #4. Great pics of the construction.

[aomagrat]

I remember when there was only one bridge across the Cooper River, one lane in each direction.

[Moose4]

Finally, should I ever make it back down to Charleston, there'll be a bridge across the Coopuh that I won't be terrified to drive across! :)

}:-)4

[EagleMamaMT]

Thanks! I'll save this thread so my husband can see the pictures when he gets home sometime this month.

[SC Swamp Fox]

I drove across the old Grace Memorial Bridge in my '72 Grand Prix a couple of decades ago. That car filled up the whole lane and there wasn't very much separating me from the water.

Scared the puddin' out me.

[jackbill]

Let me guess. The Cooper River Bridge contract didn't require payment of the "prevailing wage".

Another guess: It wasn't union labor that built the bridge.

[ImProudToBeAnAmerican]

I've driven back and forth over the two old Cooper River bridges almost daily for the last 5 or so years - they haven't fallen down yet...

The new bridge is stunning - at @ 500' tall, you can see it from miles away. And it is even prettier from the water (isn't just about everything?).

Charleston, the lowcountry and the Carolinas in general ROCK!

As a transplanted yankee (that's with a small 'y', as I moved here from the Midwest), this is home sweeeeeet home!

[Conan the Librarian]

Old stuff....this is just a copy of the Great Savannah Bridge. Charleston is behind Savannah again! :)

On a brighter note, I will be gracing Charleston with my visit in March...so it isn't all that bad.

(Actually I love Charleston...its a beautiful town.)

[SC Swamp Fox]

Let me guess

I don't know how they did it...but those are good guesses.

[SC Swamp Fox]

Do you have any idea how they got so far ahead of schedule?

[EagleMamaMT]

Well, I couldn't say on this bridge in particular, since I don't know any of the details regarding its building. I will say, though, that the crew and the supervision impressed me a lot on the Discovery Channel program I watched on the building of this bridge. My husband has been a crane operator for 32 years and has been working with the same bridge company for 10 years now, and he can usually tell just from the crew assembled and the supervision staff selected whether a job will go well or whether it will be a struggle to finish on time.