The old Cooper River Bridge.
Posted on 07/16/2005 5:42:49 PM PDT by SmithL
Charleston, S.C. -- Hundreds of people filled an eight-lane highway in place of cars and trucks Saturday to dedicate the $632 million Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River, the longest cable-stayed span in North America.
"We have created not only a bridge, but a thing of beauty," said Arthur Ravenel Jr., the former state senator and U.S. congressman for whom the span is named.
The bridge's 1,546-foot main span is supported by cables stretching down from the tops of a pair of diamond-shaped, 570-foot-tall towers. Unlike suspension spans such as San Francisco's Golden Gate, where the deck is suspended beneath two hefty main cables that connect the towers in a lengthy curve, the Ravenel cables extend directly from the towers to the deck.
"It's a wonderful, beautiful structure," Ravenel told the crowd of at least 1,500 people.
The eight-lane bridge, which took four years to build, carries U.S. 17 between Charleston and Mount Pleasant, along with pedestrian and bicycle lanes. The main span is about 200 feet above the water and will allow larger cargo ships to enter the port. Construction began four years ago, and the bridge was finished about a year ahead of schedule.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Like you I get goosebumps every time I go across it, especially on a motorcycle.
The old Cooper River Bridge.
When is it that they allow people to walk across, Memorial Day or Labor Day? That is something I have always wanted to do, but living in GA now it is hard to do.
Labor day, Sept 5th this year.
I walked it in '79, the only time I ever stepped foot in the U.P.....
What made you leave? I would still be up there if the military hadn't moved me.
Taos Gorge Bridge... Great views if you're there on a day some errant granola doesn't decide to end it all... the guardrails are only waist high.
Leave? I was "up-north" (Pellston) for a wedding over Labor Day weekend. The local thing to do was to be dropped off on the U.P. side of Mackinac Bridge and walk back. Hence, it was my only time in the U.P....
Not sure which way you were traveling, but the area has three bridge/tunnels of note.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Known as one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World. The History Channel has a program about the building of the CBBT. It's worth watching.
Next up is the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
And finally, The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
There are also lesser tunnels, the Downtown and Midtown, they connect Norfolk and Portsmouth. State workers had been negligent in performing maintenance on the Midtown tunnel's flood doors, which caused them to become inoperable. This lead to the tunnel flooding during hurricane Isabel.
how about this one? Cost is 15 billion + and counting.
Well, since everyone is boasting about 'their' bridges, here's my two favorites that I enjoy crossing and marvelling at.
The first entry is the New River Gorge Bridge in WV. Stunning views almost everytime you cross. This bridge turned what used to take an hour or more to traverse the gorge into a 45 second trip at 65mph.
http://www.thermojetstove.com/natureshots/AppalachianAutumn/pages/45-New%20River%20Bridge.htm
The second 'contestant' is the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Weirton, WV. The local joke is that it crosses from Stupidville (Stuebenville, OH) to Weirdtown (Weirton,WV). I like this one for it's appearance rather than the views.
http://www.city-data.com/picfiles/pic300.php
BTW - is there an easy way to explain how to post pics?
L O L
Good one to start off my day.
Get the picture's URL and do the following < img src="PictueURL" >. I put spaces between the < > and the text so they'd show up. You'll need to post the entire thing without spaces.
Thanks. I'd been looking for a term.
(a little redder, and that photo could be from Mars)
Check out the picture? Check out the grammar:
"The Ravenel Bridge replaces to aging bridges."
It's the weekend. Student interns are doing the writing.
Just damn...I'll get it eventually.....
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