Structure 3186 · Beaufort County, SC

US 21 Bus over Beaufort River

Carries US 21 Bus over Beaufort River, In Town Of Beaufort.

Overall conditionFair

Set by its lowest-rated component: Superstructure at 5 of 9.

How ratings work
Deck6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Substructure7/9 · Good
Channelnot part of overall6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT2,290 FT OVERALL500 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 5/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 7/9

2,290 ft end to end: about 6.4 football fields. Lengths and the semi-truck on the deck are drawn to the same scale. Each part is colored by its latest inspection rating. The inventory records lengths but not heights or the layout of the shorter spans, so those are drawn as typical for a swing bridge (drawn closed).

Built196066 years old
Length2290.0 ft698 m
Daily traffic15,600counted 2023
Last inspectedNovember 2024every 24 months

Location

StateSouth Carolina
CountyBeaufort
LocationIn Town Of Beaufort
CarriesUS 21 Bus
CrossesBeaufort River
Coordinates32.42772, -80.66923

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignMovable - Swing
Total Length2290.0 ft (698 m)
Max Span247.7 ft (75.5 m)
Deck Width33.1 ft (10.1 m)
Deck Area7049.8 sq m
Main Spans1
Year Built1960

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic15,600 (2023)
Truck Traffic4%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionNovember 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is on the National Register of Historic Places
Scour Critical5 — Stable for scour
Structure Number000000000003186

How Bridge Ratings Work

Inspectors rate each major part of a bridge (the deck you drive on, the superstructure of beams that holds it up, and the substructure of piers and abutments beneath) on a 0–9 scale. A bridge's overall condition is its lowest of those ratings, so one deteriorated component makes the whole bridge "poor."

0Failed
1Imminent failure
2Critical
3Serious
4Poor
5Fair
6Satisfactory
7Good
8Very good
9Excellent
Good · lowest component 7–9
Fair · lowest component 5–6
Poor · lowest component 0–4

A poor rating is not a closure. It means the bridge is flagged for priority repair or replacement; bridges judged unsafe are closed or posted with weight limits. The waterway (channel) rating is reported, but it does not count toward the overall classification.

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