The South Carolina Department of Transportation’s roadway network includes many historically significant bridges. These bridges, built from 1909 to 1955 include visually impressive bridges like the coast’s swing spans and draw bridges, steel truss bridges in the upstate, and grand concrete arch designs like Columbia’s iconic Gervais Street Bridge. However, many of SC’s historic bridges are of a more ordinary design, like concrete Tbeams or steel stringers, that are significant because they are early or exemplary examples of what was once new and innovative bridge building technologies.
Welcome to South Carolina’s Historic Bridges website. Here you can find information about historically significant bridges currently in use or once in use on SCDOT’s highway system, browse historic bridges available for relocation and reuse, and learn more about the history of bridges in South Carolina.
SCDOT, in cooperation with the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), undertook an inventory of bridges built prior to 1961. The goal of the inventory was to evaluate those bridges for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Through this bridge marketing program, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is looking to preserve a number of its historic bridges that cannot meet current vehicular requirements by placing them with new owners.
This page highlights the remaining truss bridges in the state as well as general information about truss bridges: types, diagrams, technology
