If you’re craving a road trip these days, then we feel ya. In light of the recent situation, we’re all staying home a little more than we’d like. But cheer up, South Carolina. This, too, shall pass and we’ll soon be on the road again, exploring all of the best parts of the Palmetto State – from the mountains to the sea and all points in between.
If the Charleston and Mount Pleasant areas are on your radar for an upcoming day trip or weekend getaway when it’s safe to resume leisurely travel again, then you’ll have the pleasure of getting acquainted (or reacquainted) with the longest bridge in the entire state: the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge.
Google Local/Roger Katzenberg
Clocking in at an impressive 13,200 feet (that converts to 2.5 miles, by the way), the bridge is more than just a thoroughfare for locals and visitors to cross the water.
Google Local/Valkyrie 8411
It’s an architectural and engineering masterpiece that boasts eight lanes for vehicular traffic, plus an additonal two six-foot lanes — one each for pedestrians and non-motorized bicycles.
Flickr/Alexander Lerch
Its predecessors were the two-lane Grace Memorial Bridge (seen at right) and the Silas Pearman (with three lanes and seen on the left). They’re shown here during the process of being dismantled and/or demolished.
Google Local/Rudolf G. Sch.
And while the old bridges were outdated and a bit of an eyesore, the Ravenel Bridge towers over the landscape and turns the area into a living art gallery with the bridge as one of the main exhibits.
Susanne Neumann / iStock / Getty Image Plus Collection via Getty Images
We could go into all of the technical aspects of why this bridge is so awesome, but you can read all about the reasons you should visit in this previous article — when you have the time, of course.
Daniela Duncan / Moment Collection via Getty Images
We will say, though, that while crossing the Rav in a vehicle is exciting, taking a walk up to the top of the first span closest to the Mount Pleasant side is quite simply exhilarating.
ChristopheLedent / iStock / Getty Images Plus Collection via Getty Images It is, after all, the longest bridge in the state and ranks as a top tourist attraction in the Charleston area.
Have you been able to walk over this 2.5-mile bridge yet (or just part of the bridge)? We’d love to know how it went!
Google Local/Roger Katzenberg
Google Local/Valkyrie 8411
Flickr/Alexander Lerch
Google Local/Rudolf G. Sch.
Susanne Neumann / iStock / Getty Image Plus Collection via Getty Images
Daniela Duncan / Moment Collection via Getty Images
ChristopheLedent / iStock / Getty Images Plus Collection via Getty Images
It is, after all, the longest bridge in the state and ranks as a top tourist attraction in the Charleston area.
And if you want to see some vintage footage captured from a vehicle crossing the old, narrow, Grace Bridge, then keep reading: This Footage Of A Rickety South Carolina Bridge Will Take You Back In Time!
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Address: Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge, Charleston, SC, USA
