The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Cooper River in South Carolina, USA, connecting downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant. The eight lane bridge satisfied the capacity of U.S. Route 17 when it opened in 2005 to replace two obsolete cantilever truss bridges. The bridge has a main span of 1,546 feet, the third longest among cable-stayed bridges in the Western Hemisphere.
Staying in Mount Pleasant and commuting to events recently in Charleston, SC gave us several trips over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge of Cooper River Bridge Run fame. The video above was taken during a couple of trip during our long weekend covering the Charleston Wine and Food Festival. We did a short run Saturday morning where we learned no one in South Carolina is kidding when they say high wind advisory. The elevation of the bridge isn’t bad as you can see in the video but on foot in extreme wind conditions it feels like climbing Mount Everest.
The bridge is a great design and fun to drive or run over. If you stay allows it I definitely think hiking to the top is a great way to see it up close and get a great view of the river and Charleston. I would pay attention to any advisory at the bottom of the bridge as to the condition of the area.
