New Sawyer span opens

SULLIVAN'S ISLAND -- Longtime resident Peter DeVito enjoyed walking on the new $32.5 million Ben Sawyer Bridge for the first time Friday.

The pedestrian and bike lane was wide and smooth instead of the narrow, broken concrete path so perilously close to traffic on the old bridge.

"Absolutely incredible. American engineering. It's the best," DeVito said.

From a distance the new span looks much like the old one. Up close, the new bridge shines and sparkles in a way the old bridge never did in recent times. DeVito said the new bridge is better for motorcycle riding because the old bridge center span was a trickier metal grid. "You never did feel quite safe," he said.

The bridge connecting the island and Mount Pleasant opened at 1:50 a.m. Friday after being closed for more than a week. Sullivan's Island Mayor Carl Smith was first to ride across the bridge. He noted that the new bridge design replicates the original Ben Sawyer that opened in 1945, down to the round-headed bolts that look like rivets.

"It's amazing how much wider the bridge looks. I think it's great. I want to thank the South Carolina Department of Transportation and (Transportation) Secretary (Buck) Limehouse," Smith said.

The bridge-center span pivoted open a few times on Friday for boat traffic, including a barge and tug on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. PCL Civil Constructors worked around the clock for 17 days to get the new bridge finished.

The contractor was one day late reopening the bridge, which results in financial "disincentives," but officials declined to say how much money was involved. "There are going to be some talks about fines," said James Law, media relations specialist with the Transportation Department.

The old approach spans are still at the site, sitting on supports next to the bridge. They will be demolished in place. The old center span has been removed from the location by barge and will be recycled by Nucor Steel.

The rest of the work is on target to be finished by the end of May. The project started in February 2009.

The new bridge traffic lanes are 14 feet wide, two feet wider than the old bridge lanes. The bike and pedestrian path on the harbor side is 5 feet wide, twice the width of the path on the old bridge.

The old Ben Sawyer had some structural issues. Last year, the 124-foot bridge was closed for 72 hours so rusty steel beams supporting the 5-ton bridge-tender's house could be replaced.

In 2004, transportation engineers reduced the gross weight of vehicles allowed to cross the bridge to 20 tons from 30 tons after an inspection found "fairly significant deterioration" of floor beams and stringers.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.