Record-Breaking Span, Long-Awaited Relief

The Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, SC, expected to open to traffic next month (a year ahead of schedule) is touted as the longest “cable-stay” bridge on the North American continent. Extending more than three miles across the mouth of the Cooper River, it will carry eight lanes of automotive traffic plus special pedestrian and bicycle lanes for sight-seers. The roadway is about 200 feet above the water; the cable towers reach almost three times that height. The term “cable-stay” signifies that the structure is supported by more than 100 wound-wire cables, some of them 20 inches in diameter.

“Just another megastructure,” many of you might judge. It’s a bit special to me because South Carolina is my home state and I have relatives living across the lower Cooper River flats. Furthermore, if you’ve ever driven across the old bridge (or made the annual Cooper River Run) and felt its eerie motion, high above the river, you understand why we locals have looked forward to this event for many years. The new bridge is both a record and a relief.