New Cooper River Bridge
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

When we traveled on Route 17 from the Isle of Palms across the harbor to Charleston, we were amazed with the New Cooper River Bridge that opened last year. It is truly a work of art and an architectural wonder. The new Cooper River Bridge has the longest cable stay span in North America, reaching 1546 feet over the Cooper River. The bridge's 15-hundred-46-foot main span is supported by cables stretching down from the tops of a pair of diamond-shaped, 570-foot-tall towers. The roadway consists of eight 12-foot lanes, four in each direction. A campaign by locals eventually led to the addition of a 12-foot bicycle and pedestrian path to the design, which runs along the entire south edge of the bridge overlooking Charleston Harbor.

The bridge superstructure is constructed to withstand shipping accidents and the natural disasters that have plagued Charleston’s history. The span was designed to endure wind gusts in excess of 300mph, far stronger than those of the state’s worst hurricane, Hugo (1989). Engineers also had to be mindful of the 1886 earthquake that nearly leveled Charleston. The Ravenel Bridge can withstand an earthquake to approximately 7.4 on the Richter scale without total failure. To protect the bridge from uncontrolled ships, the towers are flanked by one-acre rock islands. Any ship will run aground before it can collide with the towers.

Here are a few photos taken through the windshield as we traveled across this beautiful structure.