Out with the Old, In with the Old.

The new middle section of the Ben Sawyer bridge being delivered by water this week. It's a fresh twin to the old one.

I am always bothered when old structures are torn down and replaced with the newer and "better" version. That is why the new Ben Sawyer bridge is such a delight... it is almost exactly like the old, outdated, and sometimes bothersome one built right after WWII. The old bridge is a swing span bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway where it connects Mount Pleasant to Sullivan's Island. It has an old timey, rumbling steel feel to it with a little "room" over the middle where the mysterious operator stays. When a boat approaches which will not fit under the span (which happens quite often due to the bridge's low height) all traffic stops as the whole bridge slowly swings aside to make way for the waterway traveler. Traffic piles up as everyone sits in their (sometimes hot) cars for apx. 10 minutes and frets the possibility of being late to where they are headed. But it is out of your control, so you relax, roll down your window, take a deep breath of marsh air, and realize you are being forced to sit still at an astoundingly beautiful spot. You see a flock of red winged blackbirds, marsh grass blowing in the wind, the lighthouse light turning, tiny fiddler crabs in the marsh, and fish jumping. You watch as a beautiful sailboat slowly glides underneath the span and you imagine who they may be and where they are traveling. The bridge closes, everyone revs their engines and life is back to "normal" but somehow a little nicer. Thank goodness, the powers-that-be asked for public input before the new bridge was designed and thank more goodness, the island people wanted the new bridge to be just like the old one. Thirty-two million dollars were spent and it is exactly the same bridge, with all its warts, except for a slightly larger sidewalk. SC Department of Transportation was not happy, but somehow it was done. (Everyone is happy about the bigger sidewalk since pushing your bike along the old one was a little like guiding your donkey on the edge of the Grand Canyon.)

The bridge will be closed to traffic for over a week while the new one is installed. But no problem, because these island people know how to make the most of a inconvenient situation.. you have a party! There will be a "Bridging the Island Party" in the park with lots of food, drink and entertainment. A group of Adande drummers will lead the islanders to the top of a local mound for a community drum circle. Local restaurants are offering food and drink specials all week to make your island bound time more enjoyable... free scoops of ice cream, half priced tacos and burgers, free wine, and half priced massages to relieve the stress from the detour. A good beginning for a good new old thing.

The old bridge after Hurricane Hugo. This old guy has been through a lot...it was repaired, but structural deficiencies required that a new one finally be built.