I Ran Outta Bridges...
Once the 2-lane 1929 bridge was closed and the 1960s newer 3-lane bridge was deemed out-moded, construction began on the newest 8-lane bridge to replace both of the oldies.
I was still running/walking the 3-lane bridge and we would pass the new one under construction that finally opened in 2005. That was my last annual run/walk over the Cooper River.
I decided I would do my next bridge crossing when there was an even newer one! Haha.
A while later, the dismantling of the two older, unused bridges began. We have a VERY active port so ships come and go at all hours so that boat traffic had to be considered as the demolition and removal began in earnest.
Two huge red cranes arrived on the scene to handle the heavy loads as large pieces were removed and barged away.
It so happened one of the crane operators was the husband of the caregiver for my Mom as we tried to keep my mother at home as long as we could.
Jenny was a sweet, caring lady who came 3-4 days a week and others filled in the rest of the week so Mom was assisted and stayed in her home for many months with great care.
One day Jenny asked me if I would like to have a piece of the 1929 bridge as she knew our family history with it and she had seen the photo of my grandmother actually ON the bridge while it was being built a year before it opened.
I expected maybe a few rivets from the steel bridge I had driven over as a teenage driver.
I am sure her husband, the crane operator, was a major part of how I received a LARGE and heavy piece of history! AND 2 rivets and 2 covers. WOW!
Later I saw for sale ads for pieces of the bridge and one similar to mine was priced at $1500. Yikes!
Labels: a heavy piece of local history, A Tale of Three Bridges, I DID walk during bridge runs on all three, I have 13 numbered participant badges
posted by chuckography @ 9:56 AM
1 Comments:
What a great story! When we were redecorating our bedroom, I was excited to find an antique dealer selling leaded windows that came from the rather historic college I graduated from... I made one of them into a hanging headboard!
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