Bridge No: 1040006100200

Asset ID: 716

County: Charleston

Bridge Name:

Facility Carried: SC 61 (Ashley River Rd)

Feature Intersected: Church Creek

Year Built: 1936

Year Reconstructed: 1959

Main Structure Type: T Beam

Design:

Main Material: Reinforced concrete

Railing Type: concrete 1 bar cantilevered off brush curb railings

Number of Main Spans: 4

Number of Approach Spans: 0

Approach Type:

Structure Length: 88 feet

Structure Width: 31 feet

Setting: The bridge carries a 2-lane highway over a tidal stream in a setting of coastal marshes.This section of Ashley River Road (SC 61), which follows a route that has existed since the colonial period, is a NR-listed linear historic district (Ashley River Road HD, NR 1983).Church Creek is described as the southern terminus of the district, but it is not specific about which bank of the creek should be used as the boundary.The road is incorporated within a large historic district (Ashley River HD, NR 1994) that includes the road and the properties to its northeast between the road and the river.

The 4 span, 88'-long T beam bridge built in 1936 was widened to both sides with slab extensions in 1959.It has standard concrete 1 bar cantilevered off brush curb railings that replaced earlier railings in 1959.Beam guide rails have been set to the roadway faces of the railings.The bridge is supported on reinforced concrete bents that were extended with prestressed concrete piles to receive the widened sections.

The T beam bridge built in 1936 and widened in 1959 is not individually distinguished by its technology, representing a standardized design of the state highway department that was in use since the early 1920s.The route was in existence since 1691 and is shown on the 1771 Lodge-Cook Map and Robert Mills’s 1820 atlas and is held to be the oldest road in the state still in use, according to the 1983 national Register nomination for the 11.5-mile long segment of the state-owned right-of-way between Church Creek in Charleston County and SC 165 in Dorchester County.Subsequent nominations for the Ashley River Road Historic District in 1994 and 2010 include the road, but neither document addresses the physical development and historical alteration of the highway, its current appearance, or an inventory of contributing and non-contributing road-related resources.The period of significance for the most-recent nomination extends it to 1950.State records show that the Ashley River Road (SC 61) was widened, paved, curves straightened, and the road itself improved between 1934 and 1960.Noted for the significant cultural landscapes and historic properties beyond the highway and its majestic tree canopy, the highway was designed a National Scenic Byway in 1999, and the highway continues to link significant historic sites.The bridge was built within the period of significance, but it was altered in 1959 and now has the appearance of a late-1950s bridge.It is likely that enough of the original fabric and integrity remains for it to be procedurally considered a contributing resource to the district.It is not a distinguishing feature in the district. It is considered historic because of its location within a significant cultural landscape.