Cooper River Bridges (1929–2005)
Cooper River Bridge | |
|---|---|
The Grace Memorial Bridge (left) and the Pearman Bridge (right) | |
| Coordinates | 32°48′7.47″N 79°55′52.73″W / 32.8020750°N 79.9313139°W |
| Carries | 3 southbound lanes and 2 northbound lanes of US 17 |
| Crosses | Cooper River and Town Creek |
| Locale | Charleston, SC |
| Official name | John P. Grace Memorial Bridge (Southbound span) Silas N. Pearman Bridge (hybrid span) |
| Maintained by | Cooper River Bridge, Inc (prior to 1941), SCDOT |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cantilever truss with suspended center span |
| Total length | 2.7 miles (4.3 km) (1,050 feet (320 m)) |
| Width | 20 feet (6.1 m) (Two 10-foot (3.0 m) lanes; Grace Bridge) 40 ft (12 m) (Three 12-foot (3.7 m) lanes; Pearman Bridge) |
| Height | 250 feet (76 m) |
| Longest span | 760 ft (232 m) |
| Load limit | 5 short tons (4.5 t)) (Grace Memorial Bridge) |
| Clearance above | Unlimited |
| Clearance below | 155 ft (47 m) |
| History | |
| Construction start | February 7, 1928 May 2, 1963 |
| Construction end | July 8, 1929 April 29, 1966 |
| Opened | July 8, 1929 (Grace Bridge) April 29, 1966 (Pearman Bridge) |
| Closed | July 16, 2005 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 35,000 |
| Toll | $0.50 per vehicle and driver and $0.15 for each additional passenger (abolished in 1946) |
| Location | |
.jpg){kind=link}
The Cooper River Bridges were a pair of cantilever truss bridges that carried traffic over the Cooper River in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The first bridge opened in 1929, a second one opened in 1966 to relieve traffic congestion. The Grace Memorial Bridge was designed and constructed by a private company known as Cooper River Bridge, Inc, and the Pearman Bridge was designed by HNTB Corporation and constructed by SCDOT. The bridges were replaced with the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in 2005.