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

March 5, 2005: My Dad, bearings and the main span gapn

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

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(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)

Jack and Pop

Here is the view of the Ravenel bridge from Mt. Pleasant

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The real worksite

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Peo and Wilbur were preoccupied with jacking the bridge around in order to close the gat between the east and west main span sections

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Here is the gap

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Shims were being placed to hold the position

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and here is Wilbur's hydraulic control station

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and Wilbur - with my curious dad to the left looking at the Pearman bridge

hydraulic wilbur

Looking across the bridge, here is a view along the main span floor girders

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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

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Going back - here is the East Bay ramp (Line 14) team

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Part 2 of the team

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The gap for the East Bay approach

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and then home. Wow what a day with my dad and brother

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

C. Frank Starmer

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