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NewslettersMeeting tonight to address widening of S.C. 802, new bridge
Tue, 2008-05-20 12:08 — Anonymous
A third public hearing on the proposed widening of S.C. 802 from Ribaut Road to U.S. 21 on Lady's Island and construction of a parallel bridge next to the J.E. McTeer Bridge will be held tonight. Read the story here.
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Why are we having a meeting for the widening of 802 from the base of the McTeer bridge to US 21 at Shell Point El. Wouldn't Lady' Island Mid be a better location? I agree that this section needs to be widened, however how about having it where the people who are going deal with the construction live?
That would make too much sense.
Why another bridge next to the McTeer bridge? Why not one next to the Woods Bridge and higher so that we will not have to wait as long for boat traffic.
Why another bridge next to the McTeer bridge? Why not one next to the Woods Bridge and higher so that we will not have to wait as long for boat traffic.
About 12 or 15 years ago, this very idea was proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers. They wanted to eliminate the swing bridge as they've been doing for all swing and bascule bridges on the Intracoastal. The problem with the Beaufort swing bridge is the width of the river. It isn't enough to allow the bridge to reach the required 65' height at the center channel. In order to make that height, the base of the bridge would have to start quite a ways down Carteret, which isn't feasible. The suggestion made by the engineers was to "curve" the bridge across the river. This would give the bridge a long enough span to reach the 65' mark at the channel, but would also place the center span somewhere in front of the park. It would also plant a huge concrete structure, similar in size to the McTeer bridge, right in the middle of the park's view... Not a good thing if tourism is one of your main sources of income.
As a Side note, I approached a South Carolina engineer, involved with this scheme and asked "What about a tunnel?" My answer was a blank stare and the comment, "We can't". When I asked why not, he replied "Well, because we've never built a tunnel in South Carolina before."
Maybe we should be thankful there's even a meeting somewhere in the county and a plan for a sister bridge next to the McTeer.
...in regards to a more "efficient" bridge (or tunnel) from Lady's Island to the city of Beaufort: The city is an historic district and the buildings are fragile structures (as evidenced by the latest discoveries at the "Castle"). For years, automobile and especially truck traffic has been increasing in the city. The additional vibration has been creating havoc for many buildings. Improving the accessibility with a more efficient bridge in the downtown area would also increase the attractiveness of that route to Lady's Island.
It's probably better to carry a pair of binoculars in the car as I do, and simply enjoy the boats as they pass whenever the bridge opens.
Heres a suggestion that will help the city with funding and could potentially pay for a new Bridge or even the Tunnel. Of course with SC Engineering the Tunnel would be designed like a parking garage on Crack, it would have a spiral entrance that got us under the ground and then cross under the river only to emerge under the 21 / 802 intersection causing the light to be even longer. Along the way, we would have to have side tunnels for Fast Food since we can't go 300 yards without one and breakdown lanes since we have more POS cars on the road than the number of lost yankees in the county. Also, of course there would be absolutely no signs allowed.
My financing idea is to install Parking Meters on the Bridge, that way every time some snow bird boat, blow boat or Crane thats just a bit too tall goes through demanding we stop our world and sit on the bridge for 10-15 minutes out of our way too expensive day, we would also have to pay 50 cent for a half hour of "Parking". Now to maximize this cash cow we should put up ceneter barriers from Bellamy curve to the High School light. A city cop on that side of the light would be great too, they could nab all the Felony U-Turners and work on paying for cable TV in the Bridge Tenders house or a Hot Tub.
Well, thats my idea and for all its worth($$Millions$$) we could continue the trend on other similar spots and finance closing all southbound I-95 Exits to keep the Riff Raff Out.
A center barrier would restrict emergency vehicles... Better to let them U-turn and install a toll booth at Meridian:)
Thats true but we'd have to pay someone to man it, so that kind of personal service is about as sensable as assigning a Police Officer to the portion of Beaufort City on Ladys Island that are paying for that service when there are already deputies there. Come on, Cities are just businesses that try to look like governments. Maybe "Sharks with Frikkin Lazers" would be better.
Blue. You've been talking to our beloved mayor, haven't you?