Its stately diamond towers remain a fixture of the Holy City skyline
The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge garnered a week of celebrations prior to its opening on July 16, 2005, including black-tie dinners, fireworks displays, and the distribution of fans, such as the one pictured. Named after the local politician who spearheaded the campaign for its construction, the engineering marvel took four years and $632 million to complete. The eight-lane span, which replaced the three-lane Silas N. Pearman and two-lane John P. Grace Memorial bridges, was designed to withstand wind gusts of more than 300 miles per hour while leaving plenty of room for container ships to pass underneath. Two decades later, the bridge’s iconic, 575-foot-tall diamond towers remain a fixture of the Holy City’s skyline, connecting the peninsula with Mount Pleasant.
WATCH: A last commute over the Grace Memorial Bridge as well as some of the demolition footage:
