John F. Limehouse Memorial Bridge

The John F. Limehouse Memorial Bridge, located about 15 mi west of downtown Charleston, South Carolina, was completed in 2003. It replaced an obsolete low-level swing bridge over the Stono River. The current bridge, which crosses a channel between Johns Island and St. Andrews Parish, an area generally called West Ashley, was completed under a partnership between the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and the United States Coast Guard.

Purpose
The Stono River is a critical part of the 3,000 mi of Intracoastal Waterway used by barges, fishing boats, and recreational mariners. The former swing bridge, built in 1929, was an obstruction to vessel traffic, thus removal was mandated by the U.S. Coast Guard in an Order to Alter issued in 1994, leaving only a few swing bridges in the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, from Key West, Florida, to the northernmost areas of South Carolina.

The current, 2,800 ft concrete structure is a high-level, fixed span. The new bridge has a horizontal clearance for vessels of 215 ft compared with the former clearance of 93 ft and a vertical clearance of 65 ft above the high-water mark, compared to a previous clearance of only 13 ft in the closed position. The new structure accommodates four lanes of traffic and provides access to Johns, Kiawah, Seabrook, and Wadmalaw Islands.

Design and construction
Design of the bridge was contracted to Ralph Whitehead Associates, Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina. Construction was awarded to Jones Brothers, Inc., of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. The Coast Guard provided about $21 million of the total $30 million bridge cost, with the rest paid by the State.

The State government donated the debris to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources artificial reef program. After demolishing the old span, the contractor transported its concrete and steel components to the Kiawah Reef site about 23 mi away. The current bridge was opened to traffic in June 2003, approximately two months ahead of schedule.