The Ashley, Cooper and Wando Rivers meet here and so there are bunch of bridges that connect the cities of Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Daniel Island, James Island, and Johns Island. The most beautiful of the bridges is of course the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge https://www.yelp.com/biz/arthur-ravenel-jr-bridge-mount-pleasant-2?hrid=adycp2YtNWJNWD6GJRhgFA, a cable-stayed bridge with two diamond-shaped towers over the Cooper River. But this isn't that one. This is one of the two Wando River bridges (the other is upstream on SR-41).
Officially the James B. Edwards Bridge, named after the former governor of the state (1975-1979) and was later Secretary of Energy under President Reagan. It carries Interstate 526 over the Wando River and connects Daniel Island with Mount Pleasant. It was manufactured with pre-cast post-tensioned concrete box girder bridges. From the peak there is a good view of the city, the seaport cranes and of course, the many church steeples that gives Charleston its nickname of the Holy City. Some might find the roadway steep and the normal barrier causes vertigo. There is no stopping or standing on the bridge and pedestrians are not permitted.
This is technically two fixed bridges that opened to traffic in 1989. Three lanes in each direction with a narrow inner margin and a full breakdown lane on the outside. There is no toll to cross the bridge.
Four stars because while it is a perfectly functional bridge, it is without much decoration or ostentation. It is second place after the Ravenel.
[Review 19454 overall - 1028 in South Carolina - 424 of 2023.] read more