Mike's Corner

I've always been fascinated by bridges. Don't let me get near the History Channel when there is a special about how an old bridge was built. Here's an article I found this morning after hearing about this grand opening in South Carolina. It's quite impressive, at over 3 1/2 miles long.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on July 2 in Charleston for the new Arthur Ravenel, Jr., Bridge. During the ceremony, various dignitaries, including Governor James Hodges, SCDOT Commission Chairman L. Morgan Martin, and Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., made comments about the 8-lane, $631 million bridge, the largest and most expensive bridge project ever to be undertaken by the State of South Carolina. When completed, the bridge, which will connect Charleston to Mount Pleasant over the Cooper River, will also include bicycle and pedestrian lanes, and will be one of the largest bridges in the country.
The new Ravenel Bridge will replace the current Pearman Bridge (built in 1966) and the Grace Memorial Bridge (built in 1929). The Grace Memorial Bridge has numerous signs of age and wear, making its replacement a necessity.
Planning for the new bridge has taken an arduous twenty years, primarily due to wrangling over how the bridge was to be financed. State Senator Arthur Ravenel, for whom the bridge will be named, was instrumental in bringing the bridge's construction to reality by tenaciously pursuing funding. The funding for the bridge is a combination of federal, state and local tax money plus a $215 million federal loan.