Bridge No: 1370082300100

Asset ID: 133

County: Chesterfield

Bridge Name: Lynches River Bridge

Facility Carried: S-823 (Old SC 9)

Feature Intersected: Lynches River

Year Built: 1923

Year Reconstructed:

Main Structure Type: Open Spandrel Arch

Design: Ribbed

Main Material: Reinforced concrete

Railing Type: concrete balustrades

Number of Main Spans: 3

Number of Approach Spans: 4

Approach Type: reinforced concrete slab

Structure Length: 363 feet

Structure Width: 21.1 feet

Setting: The bridge carries a 2-lane road over a stream in a wooded, rural setting.The road appears to be a bypassed loop of old SC 9. It is north of the current alignment of US 601. The site has scenic qualities.

The main spans of the handsome and well-proportioned 7-span and 363'-long bridge are three, 105'-long ribbed open spandrel arch spans.There are two,12'-long slab approach spans at each end.The open spandrel arch spans have plain spandrel columns and cantilevered deck sections finished with reinforced concrete balustrades.The deck width is 18'.Some sections of balustrade have been lost and have been replaced with beam guide rails.

The handsome open spandrel arch bridge built in 1923 is an example of a bridge type that rose to the fore in the early 20th century and was often reserved for use at major river crossings where an aesthetic, long-span bridge was desired.Considered the most beautiful of all the pre-1930 bridge types, open spandrel arches reached their zenith in the 1910s and continued to be used into the 1920s and early 1930s.This is the oldest of at least four examples dating from 1923 to 1930 in South Carolina.With cantilevered deck sections, arch ribs, and plain spandrel columns, the bridge illustrates how the bridge type reduces the components to their most basic shapes and with no earthen fill.Curiously there is no note of the construction of this bridge in the state highway department annual reports suggesting that it may have been constructed by the county or counties.The bridge is historically and technologically significant as an early and complete example of the important bridge type and for its high artistic value (Criterion C).It is located on a bypassed section of an early state highway, and it represents first-generation improvements to developing the statewide system, which emphasized connecting county seats and commercial centers. The bridge was designed by the state highway department bridge division, and the plans are part of the department's records.