Building the Ravenel Bridge
After all the photos I took, I've tried to arrange them in some order based on various topics I found interesting.
And a reminder from T.S. Eliot (East Coker from the Four Quartets)
Old men ought to be explorers Here and there does not matter We must be still and still moving Into another intensity For a further union, a deeper communion
My brother Jack brought our dad from Burlington to Charleston for an unplanned adventure. My dad, now 88, was always curious and transferred to my brothers and myself his curiosity. When they arrived, Peo provided hard hats and safety vests and off we went.
My dad and what I thought was my brother Jack. Turns out, its probably me
(Four years later, my brother Jack discovered that he was not in the above photo - and I remembered that surely I took a photo of him at this time with our dad - and sure enough - here it is)
Here is the view of the Ravenel bridge from Mt. Pleasant
The real worksite
Peo and Wilbur were preoccupied with jacking the bridge around in order to close the gat between the east and west main span sections
Here is the gap
Shims were being placed to hold the position
and here is Wilbur's hydraulic control station
and Wilbur - with my curious dad to the left looking at the Pearman bridge
Looking across the bridge, here is a view along the main span floor girders
From the bicycle lane - here is the lane, and in the background, the Grace and Pearman bridges as they cross Drum Island and Town Creek
Going back - here is the East Bay ramp (Line 14) team
Part 2 of the team
The gap for the East Bay approach
and then home. Wow what a day with my dad and brother
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
C. Frank Starmer