U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge, SC Road 45 spanning Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal, Eadytown

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER SC-37. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

SC 45 bridge spanning the Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal, located approximately three miles south of Eadytown, Berkeley County, South Carolina USGS Quad: Eadytown, SC Quadrangle, UTM: Zone 17, 580095E Date of Construction: reconstructed in Engineers: South Carolina Highway Department W. Eliot Crum, Robert W. Hotinger, South Carolina Highway Department Fabricator: Atlantic Bridge Company, Dublin Construction Company, Slattery & Henry, T. P. Wright, Killian & Watson, Thompson-Moseley, W. B. Boyle McMeekin Construction Company, Cheraw, SC, Wannamaker and Wells, Inc, Orangeburg, SC, Virginia Bridge Company, Roanoke, Virginia

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER SC-37. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The SC 45 Bridge over the Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal is an uncommon example of a reinforced concrete and steel truss bridge. Placement of three original through steel trusses--one a widened through truss and two deck trusses under the road--make this bridge unique in appearance. The South Carolina Highway Department's use of salvaged steel trusses from the U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge, completed in also adds to the distinctiveness of the bridge. The SC 45 Santee Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge is perhaps the first salvaged bridge project undertaken by the South Carolina Highway Department. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 2 Report Prepared by: J.

Faith Meader, Historian, New South Associates Mark Swanson, Historian, New South Associates Date: November U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 3 PART 1. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. CHRONOLOGY Federal Aid Road Act. States to provide matching funds and create appropriate highway agencies to oversee money and construction for road projects. Creation of South Carolina Highway Department, run by a five-member Highway Commission. Most roadwork was still done at county level. Reorganization of SC State Highway Department. New seven-member Highway Commission elected Charles H. Moorefield later known as "Father of the South Carolina State Highway System." Creation of specifications for State Highway Department roads, culverts, and bridges.

Development of modular bridge concept. First Federal Aid Highway system in South Carolina, resulting from agreement between South Carolina Highway Department and Federal Bureau of Public Roads. "Pay As You Go" State Highway Act. State Highway Department established as permanent agency, with authority to build and maintain comprehensive road system. Proposed bridge spanning Santee River at U.S. 15 (formerly State Highway 4) let to contract by the Chief Highway Commissioner. Estimated two years to build the bridge. U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge constructed (Project Number for a cost of The treated timber, steel and earth bridge measured in length. The South Carolina General Assembly created the South Carolina Public Service Authority, Santee-Cooper, to manage the square mile Santee Watershed.

U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 4 South Carolina Public Service Authority's Santee-Cooper hydroelectric project. Pinopolis Dam, which formed the Pinopolis Reservoir, constructed. Santee Dam also built, which formed the Santee Reservoir. The 6.5 mile long Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal was constructed to link the Pinopolis Dam with the Santee Reservoir. Pinopolis Hydroelectric plant began producing electricity. The name of Pinopolis Reservoir changed to Lake Moultrie, while the Santee Reservoir became Lake Marion. A new bridge on SC 45 was built across the Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal. The bridge's three steel trusses were originally part of the bridge carrying U.S. 15 4) over the Santee River, constructed in B.

Introduction The Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge, built in consists of a two-lane reinforced concrete and structural steel bridge that measures in length. SC 45 traffic crosses over the bridge that spans the 6.5-mile Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal that connects Lake Marion with Lake Moultrie. The bridge features three Parker steel trusses, one used as a through truss on the bridge's superstructure and the other located under the bridge's deck. These trusses were originally part of the bridge, built in that carried U.S. 15 4) across the Santee River and joined Orangeburg and Clarendon counties.

The three trusses from the dismantled Santee River Bridge were floated down the Santee River and Lake Marion to the Santee- Cooper Diversion Canal for the construction of a new bridge at the SC 45 crossing of the canal. In Clemson University produced a compiled inventory of metal truss bridges in South Carolina. This report, written for the South Carolina Department of Transportation, listed the SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge as a significant bridge, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 5 potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

The reconstruction of the bridge and unique uses of the salvaged trusses as combination deck and through trusses lead to the determination of this bridge to be significant and potentially eligible. 1 C. Historical Context The bridge spanning the Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal at SC 45 is significant for its construction of salvaged steel components that date to It is one of the few remaining truss bridges that the Highway Department built in the late and using salvaged steel from older bridges in the state. The Santee-Cooper Hydroelectric Project involved the excavation of a canal to connect Lake Marion to Lake Moultrie to power the Pinopolis Hydroelectric Plant. The bridge was built to carry traffic over the new Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal.

To place this bridge in its historical context, it is necessary to discuss the development of South Carolina's modern highways and bridge construction types, along with the history of the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper). Good Roads Movement, Railroads provided the initial impetus for large-scale bridge building in the nineteenth century, but this was soon followed by the demand for bridges for vehicular traffic as well. This development was tied to the growing demand in the late for better roads that could augment the transportation net already provided by the nation's rail lines.

Initially, this development was spurred not by the automobile, which was barely in its infancy, but by the bicycle, which had attained its modern form by the By the turn of the century, the bicycle was much more popular than it is today. In for example, it was estimated that at least residents of Columbia, South Carolina, used them daily to commute to work. 2 1 Metal Truss Bridge Inventory for the SC Department of Transportation (Clemson University, 2 John Hammond Moore, The South Carolina Highway Department, (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, pp. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 6 At the national level, the "good roads" movement of the led to the first federal road act of whereby Congress gave the U.S.

Department of Agriculture to investigate road- building techniques. This provided money for "object lesson" roads, where short stretches of roads were finished with local materials under federal supervision, to serve as a spur to local road construction. The act also established the "Office of Public Road Inquiries." By this had become the Bureau of Public Roads. 3 Despite this beginning, systematic progress was slow, largely because road-building remained a prerogative of the counties that was jealously guarded throughout the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth. 4 By the however, this prerogative was under attack from all sides.

Individual counties simply did not have the resources to maintain the sort of road networks demanded by the rapid rise of the automobile in the and The first consolidated school systems in the required the use of motorized buses, which created another demand for good all-weather roads. 5 Even more crucial was the emigration of many of South Carolina's rural poor, beginning in the as a result of bad harvests made worse by poor farm roads. 6 The decade of the was a period of transition in road- building, as experiments were conducted to find the optimum surfacing and bridging materials. As a result, there was little standardization. Road materials used during this period included gravel, bituminous macadam, concrete pavement, oiled earth, a "sand-clay" surface, and "top-soil." 7 3 Ibid., p.

39. 4 Carolina Highways, April-May Anniversary, p. 5. 5 Manufacturers Record, 1 January "Relation of the Motorbus to Development of Consolidated Schools in the South," pp. 6 Walter Edgar, South Carolina: A History (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, p. 7 J. Roy Pennell, South Carolina State Highway Commission, Specifications, Contract and Bond, Edition of (Columbia: R. L. Bryan Co., General information from various issues of "Public Roads: A Journal of Highway Research" (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Public Roads, on file at South Carolina Department of Transportation Library; Annual Report of the South Carolina State Highway Commission to the General Assembly for U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No.

Page 7 In South Carolina, "top-soil" was a general term for local soils selected for the best "cementing" properties. 8 More specific and popular were the sand-clay surfaces, made by mixing sand, clay, and water. "Sand-clay" had been developed in South Carolina during the and was a local favorite for many years. 9 As for road bridges, the most common materials used were creosoted timber, steel, and concrete. 10 Steel Truss and Reinforced Concrete Bridges, In the late nineteenth century, steel truss bridges gained popularity in the United States.

Steel truss parts, such as rolled angle and channel sections, plates, bars, rods, and I beams, became standardized and economical for bridge construction after Steel bridges replaced wrought iron bridges because of steel's superior performance with both tension and compression. 11 Steel truss bridges were the most common bridge built between the and 12 In a contract for a steel through truss bridge with a timber and earth substructure was let for the Santee River Bridge. This bridge joined Clarendon and Orangeburg counties and spanned the Santee River at the crossing of U.S. 15 (formerly Highway 4). The structure measured and took two years to complete. 13 The bridge featured three Parker trusses, which were Pratt trusses with arched, polygonal top chords.

The shape of the top chord makes the Parker truss stronger, yet more expensive to construct than the common, basic Pratt truss. 14 the Fiscal Year Ending 31 December Table 3. 8 Moore, South Carolina Highway Department, p. 53. 9 Ibid., pp. 10 Pennell, South Carolina State Highway Commission, Specifications. 11 Delaware Historic Bridges (Paramus, NJ: Lichtenstein Consulting Engineers, Inc. . 12 American Association for State and Local History, Technical Leaflet 95, "Bridge Truss Types: A Guide to Dating and Identifying," History News, 32 (May 13 Annual Report of the South Carolina State Highway Department to the General Assembly for period July 1, 1927-June 30, Table 7, p. 59. 14 American Association for State and Local History Technical Leaflet 95, U.S.

15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 8 The U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge was built at the cusp of a transition with bridge construction in South Carolina. By the early the building of steel truss bridges began to decline in favor of technological advances of other bridge types, particularly reinforced concrete bridges. Reinforced concrete had established itself by the late as a useful building material; by the its cheapness, versatility, and longevity, made it one of the preferred materials for bridge construction. 15 Birth of South Carolina Department of Transportation, One of the lasting results of the Good Roads Movement was the first comprehensive federal law dealing with roads.

Signed into law by Woodrow Wilson in July of the Federal Aid Road Act provided funds for the improvement of "postal routes," and provided $75 million over a five-year period, to be divided among the states. In order to use this money, each state had to provide matching funds and coordinate construction plans through a state highway department. Since South Carolina did not then have such an agency, this federal law provided the impetus for the state's first highway department, created in 16 At that time, the state highway department consisted of a five- member Highway Commission, whose mission was to coordinate county road construction, and study road building and maintenance in other states for application in South Carolina.

Directly beneath the commission was the first State Highway Engineer, J. Roy Pennell. Under him were five subordinates: Chief of Construction, Chief of Surveys, Bridge Engineer, Chief Draftsman, and Chief of Automobile License Division. As originally established, the highway department was not well- funded, and it had limited authority. It could not build roads on its own and it did not control the roads once they were built. It was not even a permanent department. It was basically a conduit for federal money to reach the counties. 17 15 Elling and Witherspoon, Pre-1951 Non-Metal Truss Highway Bridges of South Carolina, pp. Georgia Department of Transportation and Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Bridge Survey, September 16 Moore, South Carolina Highway Department, pp.

Carolina Highways, April-May pp. 17 Moore, South Carolina Highway Department, pp. Carolina Highways, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 9 The situation was improved in with the passage of a new highway department law. The Highway Commission was reorganized into a seven-member body, which was then commissioned to elect a state highway engineer. Even though the commission still had no direct control over roadways, it was authorized to establish a system of interconnected roads throughout the state. It was also put on a more secure financial footing, using motor vehicle license fees and a two-mills property tax. 18 This marked the true beginning of the state's highway program.

Slowly, throughout the the highway department was awarded increasing authority. By the end of the decade, it was accepted that the state highway department could construct roads and bridges in its own right. 19 The real powerhouse behind this new arrangement was the state highway engineer, and the first one elected to this office, on June 8, was Charles H. Moorefield, previously a district engineer for the Southern office of the federal Bureau of Public Roads. Moorefield, who served as state highway engineer until has been called "the father of the state highway system. Among the key people who served under Moorefield during this period were N. S. Anderson, construction engineer; Joseph W. Barnwell, bridge engineer; and A. Harwell, maintenance engineer.

21 One of Moorefield's best known achievements was the development of low-cost pavements, such as sand-clay and top- soil bases. 22 Among his lesser-known albeit significant achievements were advances in road and bridge standardization. 23 April-May pp. 18 Annual Report of the State Highway Commission to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 December p. 11; Report of the Committee for the Investigation of the State Highway Department, underJoint Resolution of the General Assembly of Approved April 19, (Columbia: R. L. Bryan Co., pp. Carolina Highways, April-May p. 9. 19 Moore, South Carolina Highway Department, pp. 2 Carolina Highways, April-May pp.

21 South Carolina Highway Bulletin, volume III, no.11, November on file South Carolina Department of Archives and History. 22 Carolina Highways, April-May p. 9; Moore, The South Carolina Highway Department, p. 56. 23 Elling and Witherspoon, Study of Pre-1951 Non-Metal Truss Highway Bridges of South Carolina, p. 7; Annual Report of the State Highway Commission, Fiscal Year Ending 31 December p. 5. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 10 In the area of highway bridge construction, Moorefield standardized both building materials and construction forms beginning in the early using reinforced concrete T-beams and pre-cast concrete slabs.

24 The highway department was further strengthened in by the creation of the Federal Aid Highway System, which was extended into South Carolina as a result of an agreement between the state and the Bureau of Public Roads. This allowed for the creation of a federal aid road system comprised of an initial miles in South Carolina. 25 Matters improved again in with the passage of the "Pay As You Go" Act. This law formally established the South Carolina state highway system, and established the highway department as a permanently funded agency. The highway department was also given the authority to enter into reimbursement agreements with individual counties.

As a result of this act, the burden of financing the state's highway system was shifted from local governments to the state highway department. 26 Another improvement in was the creation of the Office of Chief Highway Commissioner. This position was created to handle the political work of the department, and was approved by Charles Moorefield, the state highway engineer, as a means of freeing the rest of his staff to concentrate on the business of building roads and bridges. It was under Sawyer and Moorefield that the state highway department made its greatest strides in the and 24 J. Patrick Harshbarger and Mary E. McCahon, "Strategies for Historic Evaluation of Standard Highway Bridges, Preserving the Recent Past 2, Editors: Deborah Slaton and William G.

Foulks (Washington, National Park Service, Association for Preservation Technology International, pp. through 25 Carolina Highways, April-May pp. Outline History of South Carolina Highway Department, (South Carolina State Highway Department, Public Relations, 26 Carolina Highways, April-May p. 11; Outline History of South Carolina Highway Department; Report of the Committee for the Investigation of the State Highway Department, p. 7; Annual Report of the State Highway Commission, Fiscal Year Ending 31 December p. 11. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 11 The first Chief Highway Commissioner was Samuel McGowan 6), a crusty retired Rear Admiral who refused to accept a salary.

27 At the beginning of his tenure, South Carolina had only 225 of miles of hard-surfaced roads and no bridges spanning the Santee River. 28 McGowen soon let to contract a proposed bridge spanning Santee River at U.S. 15 (formerly State Highway 4). Project No. 252 stayed within its contract budget for a bridge construction cost of The timber, steel, and earth bridge was completed on October 7, 29 Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project, The collapse of cotton prices after World War I left South Carolina in economic trouble. The Depression of the compounded the situation and created high unemployment for the state. Public health was also a concern; malaria killed 16 of every South Carolinians at that time.

30 The election of President Franklin Roosevelt in began a number of large scale-improvements to the nation's economy. As governor of New York, Roosevelt gained background experience in implementing emergency relief work when the state created forestry projects for the unemployed in the areas of reforestation, fire-fighting, insect control, road and trail construction, and many other projects. 31 His knowledge and confidence in conservation work helped his administration to launch a number of new federal agencies and programs known as the New Deal. 27 Carolina Highways, April-May pp. 10, 15; Outline History of South Carolina Highway Department; Report of the Committee for the Investigation of the State Highway Department, pp. Moore, The South Carolina Highway Department, pp.

28 Edgar, South Carolina: A History,p. 29 Annual Report of the South Carolina State Highway Department to the General Assembly for period July l, 1927-June 30, Table 7, p. 59; South Carolina Department of Transportation Minutes, January-June 30 Walter B. Edgar, History of Santee Cooper (Moncks Corner: South Carolina Public Service Authority, 31 John Paige, The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, An Administrative History, (Washington National Park Service, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No.

Page 12 When Roosevelt advocated the harnessing of the Tennessee and Columbia rivers for flood control and providing electricity, many South Carolinians wanted to initiate a similar program for the square mile watershed along the Santee, Cooper and Congaree rivers. In Senator Jefferies and the majority of the South Carolina Senate agreed to sponsor a bill that would create a public corporation for the watershed, but the House of Representatives defeated the bill. Opposition rose from those concerned with the expense and environmental consequences of such an undertaking. However, a newspaper article in Charleston's News and Courier argued that South Carolina was not getting its fair share of New Deal funds.

The next year, sixty- four members of a statewide committee to promote the bill traveled to Washington to meet with officials of the Public Works Administration, the Works Progress Administration, and other federal agencies. At the meeting, it was decided that South Carolina must establish a state agency for the Santee Cooper area before requesting federal funding. The South Carolina General Assembly, therefore, created the South Carolina Public Service Authority, known as "Santee Cooper," on April 7, Its purpose was "for the benefit of all the people of South Carolina and for the improvements of their health, welfare, and material prosperity. " 32 In President Roosevelt approved the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project, but it took another three years before the project moved forward.

Utility companies made several appeals to block construction due to the project's enormous expense, which would use no federal money, and estimated problems with the engineering of the project's dams. Finally, the Harza Engineering Company of Chicago was contracted to design and supervise the construction of the hydroelectric project in Santee Cooper acquired approximately tracts of land totaling acres, relocated between and graves from cemeteries, and began clearing land the heavily forested land in The clearing of land became the largest Public Works Administration project in the United States. 33 Walter B. Edgar, History of Santee-Cooper 32 33Ibid.; Virginia Kirkland Galluchat Orwin, History of Clarendon County to (Orvin, U.S.

15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE {SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 13 The Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project resulted in the construction of the Pinopolis Dam and the Santee Dam. The Pinopolis Dam consisted of a 1.4-mile reinforced concrete structure set into a 26-mile earthen dike. The Santee Dam was a central concrete structure that controlled the river and lake levels. When the spillway gates were closed at the Santee Dam in November Lake Pinopolis, later called Lake Moultrie, and Lake Santee, later called Lake Marion, were created. A mile diversion canal was also excavated that year to connect the lakes and divert water from Lake Marion to Lake Moultrie in order to generate power at the Pinopolis Dam.

The Pinopolis hydro-electric plant began producing Santee Cooper's first electricity on February 17, 34 SC 45 and the Diversion Canal Bridge, Early maps of South Carolina show that road later known as Route 45 or SC 45 existed as early as the first quarter of the nineteenth century. 35 It skirted through Berkeley County and along the Santee River, within five miles of its south shore. Route 45 was a county road until or when state maps show that it became part of the South Carolina state highway system. 36 The Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project resulted in the inundation of SC 45 by Lake Marion for several miles. After the road formerly part of Route 260 was shown on maps as Route 45, which spanned the newly dug diversion canal about south of the present SC 45 bridge.

37 The bridge plans for the SC 45 bridge show the "present Route 45" running along its historic location before inundation, passing to the north of the proposed bridge. By state highway maps showed SC 45 spanned the Diversion Canal at its current 34 Walter B. Edgar, History of Santee-Cooper 35 Mills' Atlas of South Carolina (Greenville, Southern Historical Press, The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War (New York: Arno Press and Crown Publishers, Inc., 36 Proposed State Highway System of South Carolina, State Highway System of South Carolina, 37 Map of South Carolina State Highway System, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No.

Page 14 location, just to the north of the SC 45 maps from the 38 The re-routing and earth grading of SC 45, SC Docket was accomplished by Boyle Construction Company in for a cost of 39 In May plans were drawn for a temporary one-lane Single Bailey Truss steel and timber bridge to be built, under Docket at the SC 45 crossing of the canal. It transported traffic from St. Stephens to Eutawville until materials for a permanent steel bridge could be obtained. 40 In the South Carolina Highway Department designed a permanent bridge for SC 45, which would use three steel trusses from an existing bridge spanning the Santee River at U.S. 15 to the north. The Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project and the formation of Lake Marion rendered the U.S.

15 Santee River Bridge unsuitable at the location due to its short length, narrow width, and interference with lake navigation. Its three steel trusses were placed on barges and floated down the lake to the diversion canal. Because the new bridge at SC 45 would need to be wider than the U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge, the three trusses were cantilevered out to increase the width. A light steel floor grilling supported the wider roadbed and traffic easier than the concrete floor of the previous bridge at U.S. 15. 41 The Diversion Canal bridge project, Dockets and was completed in by Wannamaker and Wells Inc. for a cost of 42 The SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge proved to be unique because of its appearance, substructure construction technique, and salvaged trusses.

The road passes over the 38 South Carolina State Highway Primary System, 39 Annual Report of the State Highway Commission to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina for the Period July 1, to June 30, Table A-14. ~John A. Zeigler, ed., Progress Picture Story Santee Cooper (South Carolina Public Service Authority, 41 "Santee 'Piggy-Back" Bridge Presented Special Problems" Carolina Highways, March p. 33. 42 Annual Report of the State Highway Commission to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina for the period July 1, to June 30, Table A-14; South Carolina Department of Transportation Minutes, January-June p. 15. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 15 bridge's two deck trusses, originally superstructure components.

This feature gave rise to the structure's "Piggy-Back Bridge" nickname. The porous limestone on which the bridge piers were to sit caused geologists to fear a "settling" of the bridge. In addition to this concern, the swift current posed problems with the pier construction. Therefore, steel pilings were driven deep into the limestone and concrete was funneled down to settle around the pilings. This unusual construction technique produced thick concrete measuring 60' in width and 10' in height and provided a reinforced concrete base for the substructure's H-piers that divide the three truss spans. 43 The South Carolina Highway Department began the salvaging of steel bridge spans in the same year the SC 45 Santee- Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge was completed.

The bridge spanning the Diversion Canal was, therefore, one of the first, if not the first, salvaged bridge projects initiated in South Carolina. The bridge salvage program saved considerable costs since steel was the most expensive bridge material. By reinforcing and moving steel spans from other bridges, the highway department spent approximately per foot, as opposed to per foot to use new steel in construction. Salvaged spans were re-erected on South Carolina's secondary routes that would remain narrow roadways and not receive a large number of heavy trucks. 44 The SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge has remained structurally unchanged and in use since By the late and early general highway maps show that a few commercial buildings began to emerge in the area of the bridge.

45 Presently, cabin rentals stand adjacent to the bridge's approach on its southwest side, while a restaurant, boat ramp, and dock are located next to the bridge on its northwest side. Many local residents and recreationalists fish along the canal banks 43Ibid., 23, 33. 44 "SalvagingSteel Bridges Conserves Highway Funds" Carolina Highways, October p. 16, 41. ~General Highway Map, Berkeley County, South Carolina. (Prepared by the South Carolina Highway Department, General Highway Map, Berkeley County, South Carolina. (Prepared by the South Carolina Highway Department, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 16 under the bridge and along the rise to the southeast of the bridge, thickly covered with kudzu. PART II. BRIDGE DESCRIPTION A.

General Statement The Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge is a two-lane vehicular bridge that spans the Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The bridge's setting is rural, and its orientation is northeast to southwest. The bridge was built to accommodate SC 45 traffic across the newly excavated Santee- Cooper Diversion Canal, which connected Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie. The bridge contains three truss components of the Santee River Bridge at U.S. 15, built in dismantled, and floated down the Santee River to the Diversion Canal. The bridge appears to be one of the first examples of the South Carolina Highway Department's salvaging of steel from previous bridges in the construction of new bridges.

While the Santee- Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge was under construction, a single- lane timber detour bridge stood near the bridge. B. Physical Description The Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge is a reinforced concrete and structural steel bridge with three Parker steel trusses. The bridge has three truss spans and six approach spans, with a total length measurement of The steel deck of the bridge measures 24" wide (curb to curb) and wide at the outer edges of the through truss. The central truss span of the bridge has a 50' clearance above the canal at high water to accommodate the passage of canal vessels. The bridge stands relatively intact with limited alterations.

While the bridge may have received repair and replacement of minor parts, its main components match the original design plans drawn in and Over the years, critical structural damage has occurred to the bridge's superstructure. The repeated striking of the overhead truss by commercial vehicles has caused the connection plates on the bridge's top chord to crack. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 17 Superstructure The central truss span on the bridge's superstructure features a through truss with a clearance. This truss span measures in length. The truss was removed from the former U.S. 15 bridge, transported, widened, and re-erected.

Its steel stringers and connection were reused from the old bridge, but new steel flooring, floor beams, top laterals, rail, and some new stringers were used for the construction of the SC 45 Bridge. The deck of the bridge contains the remaining two Parker steel trusses from the U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge and salvaged steel stringers and connections. Steel lateral bracing, attached to the floor beams, helps to support the deck trusses, which each measure in length. The bridge deck consists of a light- weight steel web-shaped matting known as Irving grating. According to bridge plans, designers intended the deck to be covered with concrete. It appears that this application never occurred.

Under the grating are the steel floor beams across the width of the deck and eight stringers that run the length of the bridge. The deck of the three approach spans, which each measure in length, is paved with asphalt. The approach span decks contain reinforced concrete floor beams. The bridge's deck, without a walkway, does not accommodate pedestrian traffic. Steel guardrails flank the outer edges of the two-lane deck of the bridge. The guardrails are comprised of a low inside metal railing and posts and an outer plain, rounded metal railing and posts attached to the outside girders of the bridge. Substructure Concrete abutments support the bridge's superstructure. The substructure of the three truss spans contains four reinforced concrete H-piers: A, B, C, and D.

Piers A and D, each measuring in height and 52' long and 13' wide at the foundation, comprise the outer piers that stand embedded in the embankment of the canal. Untreated timber piles measuring approximately 12' in length provide the base stabilization in the compacted sand under Piers A and D. Piers Band C, which separate the U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 18 bridge's three truss spans, measure in height, 59' in length, and 13' in width at the pier foundation. This foundation is comprised of steel "H" piles driven 10' into limestone and approximately 38' below the water elevation and encased in a block of concrete measuring 60' by 14' and 10' high. Three approach spans flank either side of this central part of the bridge.

Four pairs of four H-pile steel bents with steel diagonal sway bracing mark each span. H-pile bents also support the bridge's abutments. Cross section of each bent measure by The bents under the approaches and abutments were driven through layers of sand, hard clay, coarse sand and gravel, and soft marl to reach a depth of below the bridge's deck and abutment. PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Engineering Drawings and Plans: No plans for the U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge, completed in were located in this study. Plans would have been drafted during the formative years of the South Carolina State Highway Department. The reconstruction of the bridge at the Diversion Canal in necessitated the production of a series of plans.

Fourteen sheets containing original plans for the South Carolina Highway Department's Dockets and were located at the South Carolina Department of Transportation's Columbia office. These sheets, several of which are included in the appendix, contain specific information about the SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge. Three plan sheets for Docket No. show a "Plan & Profile" (Sheet 3) for the bridge, drawn by on in June while Sheet 4 and 5 contain details of Piers A and D (Sheet 4). According to the plan sheets, W. Eliot Crum (W. E. C.) designed the bridge, and Robert W. Hotinger (R. W. H.) checked the bridge design. Draftsman was E. M. Quimby (E. M. checked R. W. H., and Tracer was T., checked by R. W. H.

McMillan approved the set of plans on June 26, The plans for Docket appear to consist of a revised set for the bridge and date from June through October U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 19 Silas N. Pearman approved the plans for Docket on October 24, These plans were designed, checked, drawn, drafted, and traced by the same individuals listed above for Docket Because the plans indicate that 19 sheets comprise the plans, some sheets are missing from the set. Sheet 6 contains details for the bridge's "Steel H-Pile Bent" components, while information on the bridge's superstructure is found on Sheet 8.

Sheets 9 and 10 detail the two 150-foot truss spans (Sheet 9) and the widening information for the 168-foot through truss span (Sheet Truss stress diagrams are provided on Sheet 11. "The "Suggested Method for Moving Trusses" is described in text on Sheet 12. This text was transcribed and included in the attached Appendix. Four sheets of original plans for the temporary wood bridge, built in were also found at the South Carolina Department of Transportation's Columbia office. This detour bridge was used until the steel bridge could replace it. The bridge's plan and profile are shown on Sheet 1. Sheet 2 contains substructure details for the Bailey Bridge, and additional span details are included on Sheet 4. B.

Early Views and Historical Data: An aerial photograph from contained a view of the Santee River dividing Orangeburg and Clarendon Counties. While U.S. 15 is visible, any detail of the structure spanning the Santee River cannot be detected due to high altitude of the photography. A search for clear, close historic views of the U.S. 15 Santee River Bridge yielded no results. An historic view of the SC 45 Diversion Canal Bridge was identified in Carolina Highways (March Because of the placement of the photograph over pages 32 and 33, a copy of the graphic could not be reproduced. Another historic view of the bridge dates to The Santee Cooper Library holds a postcard of a aerial photograph of the bridge, looking southeast.

The photograph shows the area surrounding the bridge as it appeared before the growth of kudzu and the establishment of businesses and housing near the bridge. A photograph of the temporary bridge spanning SC 45 until the steel bridge was completed is also shown in the publication, Progress U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 20 Picture Story Santee Cooper, available at the Corporate Library at Santee Cooper. These two historic views are included in the attached Appendix.

Primary and secondary research was conducted at South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, SC; South Carolina Department of Transportation, Columbia, SC; South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; the Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; the Clarendon County Archives in Manning, SC; the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) Corporate Library, Monck's Corner, SC; the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, and the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. Annual Reports of the State Highway Commission, original plans of the bridge, inspection reports, bridge inventories, and transportation journals at the South Carolina Department of Transportation Library were useful.

South Carolina Department of Archives and History provided the source of information for the bridge's fabricators through S.C Highway Department bulletins and minutes. The Caroliniana Library and Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina, the Clarendon County Archives, and the University of Georgia provided historic maps and aerial photographs, along with secondary sources on county histories and Santee Cooper history. Sources on Santee Cooper history were also found at the Corporate Library at Santee Cooper. Additional secondary research on bridge technology was conducted at the Georgia Institute of Technology. C. Interviews: No formal interviews were conducted for this project.

Telephone contact was made with Wayne Rush, retired assistant bridge engineer with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, to identify the individuals involved with the bridge design and plans listed by their initials on the bridge plans. Personal communication with Lee Floyd of the Bridge Maintenance Department in the Department of Transportation revealed structural issues associated with the bridge. Telephone contact with the Berkeley County Historical Society and Berkeley County U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 21 Museum was made, but no records were identified that dealt with the study bridge. D.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER SC-37. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

American Association for State and Local History. Technical Leaflet 95, "Bridge Truss Types: A Guide to Dating and Identifying" History News, Annual Report of the State Highway Cormnission to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 December In Reports of State Officers, Boards, and Cormnittees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, Regular Session Cormnencing January 13, Vol. II. On file, South Caroliniana Library. Annual Report of the South Carolina State Highway Cormnission to the General Assembly for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 December In Reports of State Officers, Boards, and Cormnittees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, Regular Session Cormnencing January 11, Vol. II. On file, South Caroliniana Library.

Annual Report of the South Carolina State Highway Department to the General Assembly for the period July 1, to June 30, On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. Annual Report of the South Carolina State Highway Cormnission to the General Assembly for the period July 1, to June 30, On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. Carolina Highways, March On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation Library. Carolina Highways, October On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation Library. Carolina Highways, April-May Anniversary. On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation Library. Delaware Historic Bridges, Paramus: Lichtenstein Consulting Engineers, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No.

Page 22 Edgar, Walter B. History of the Santee-Cooper Moncks Corner: South Carolina Public Service Authority, Edgar, Walter B. South Carolina: A History. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, Elling, Rudolph E., and Gayland B. Witherspoon. A Study of Pre- Non-Metal Truss Highway Bridges of South Carolina. Prepared by Dr. Rudolph E. Elling, P.E., Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, and Professor Gayland B. Witherspoon, F.A.I.A, Department of Architectural Studies, College of Architecture, Clemson University, Assisted by Dr. Linda K. Varkounda, Research Consultant, for South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation, June General Highway Map, Berkeley County, South Carolina.

Prepared by the South Carolina Highway Department, On file, Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina. General Highway Map, Berkeley County, South Carolina. Prepared by the South Carolina Highway Department, On file, Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina. Harshbarger, J. Patrick, and Mary E. McCahon. "Strategies for Historic Evaluation of Standard Highway Bridges, Preserving the Recent Past 2, pp. through Editors: Deborah Slaton, William G. Foulks. Washington, DC: Historic Preservation Education Foundation, National Park Service, Association for Preservation Technology International, Manufacturers Record, 1 January "Relation of the Motorbus to Development of Consolidated Schools in the South," pp. On file, Georgia Institute of Technology Library.

Map of the South Carolina Sate Highway System. Maps from On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. Metal Truss Bridge Inventory for the SC Department of Transportation, Clemson University, On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. Mills' Atlas of South Carolina Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 23 Moore, John Harmnond. The South Carolina Highway Department, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War. New York: Arno Press and Crown Publishers, Inc., Orwin, Virginia Kirkland Galluchat. History of Clarendon County to On file, Clarendon County Archives. Paige, John.

The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, An Administrative History. Washington, National Park Service, Pennell, J. Roy. South Carolina State Highway Cormnission, Specifications, Contract and Bond, Edition of J. Roy Pennell, State Highway Engineer. Columbia: R. L. Bryan Co., On file, South Caroliniana Library. Proposed State Highway System of South Carolina, South Carolina State Highway Department. On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. Report of the Cormnittee for the Investigation of the State Highway Department, under Joint Resolution of the General Assembly of approved April 19, Columbia: R. L. Bryan Co., On file, South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

South Carolina Department of Transportation Bridge Inspection, On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. South Carolina Department of Transportation Minutes, January- June On file, South Carolina Department of Archives and History. South Carolina Department of Transportation Minutes, January- June On file, South Carolina Department of Archives and History. South Carolina Highway Bulletin, November On file, South Carolina Department of Archives and History. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 24 South Carolina State Highway Primary System, On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. State Highway System of South Carolina. South Carolina State Highway Department, December 31, (first official state highway system map).

On file, South Carolina Department of Transportation. Zeigler, John A., ed. Progress Picture Story Santee Cooper. South Carolina Public Service Authority, On file, Corporate Library, Santee Cooper. PART IV. PROJECT INFORMATION An inspection of the SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge in January revealed critical structural damage to the superstructure of the bridge. Cracked connection plates on the top chord, ribs separating from the steel deck, heavy rust, and overhead truss damage from vehicles resulted in a determination of a "deficient" bridge. This status influenced the SC Department of Transportation's decision to replace the bridge. Their replacement of the structure is part of an effort to systematically replace truss bridges in the state as they become deficient.

46 ~SC DOT Bridge Inspection, March 18, Lee Floyd, SC DOT Bridge Maintenance Dept., personal conununication, November 12, U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 25 1. Photocopy of aerial photograph of SC 45 Santee Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge, looking southeast. Source: Postcard labeled Series." Photograph files, Corporate Library, Santee Cooper. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 26 2. View of temporary bridge at SC 45 during the construction of the Santee Cooper Diversion Canal, Source: Photocopy from Progress Picture Story Santee Cooper, John A. Ziegler, ed. (South Carolina Public Service Authority, Available at the Corporate Library at Santee Cooper. U.S.

15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. Page 27 Suggested Method for Moving Trusses for Bridge Over Santee Cooper Diversion Canal (Transcribed from Highway Department Bridge Plans, Docket Sheet 12) PROCEDURE-150 FT. SPANS-APPROX. 70 TONS OF STRUCTURAL STEEL THE OLD CONCRETE SLAB SHOULD BE ENTIRELY REMOVED, AND AS MANY OF THE OLD STRINGERS REMOVED AS DESIRED BEFORE THE SPAN IS MOVED FROM ITS PRESENT POSITION. SPOT BARGE BENEATH SPAN NOW IN PLACE. ERECT SIX JACKING COLUMNS AND BOLT ON BRACES WHERE CONSIDERED NECESSARY. PLACE JACKING BEAMS, ETC., AND LIFT SPAN OFF PIERS ONTO BARGE. MOVE BARGE FROM BETWEEN OLD PIER AND LOWER SPAN TO BARGE DECK BY MEANS OF THE JACKING BEAMS AND COLUMNS.

LEAVE JACKING DEVICES IN PLACE AND TOW BARGE AND SPAN TO A POSITION ALONGSIDE NEW PIERS. JACK UP SPAN TO AN ELEVATION SLIGHTLY ABOVE FINAL ELEVATION AND MOVE BARGE AND SPAN TO AN EXACT POSITION BETWEEN NEW PIERS AND THEN LOWER SPAN TO ITS FINAL POSITION ON NEW PIERS. THE WORK OF ERECTING THE NEW STRUCTURAL STEEL FOR THESE SPANS AND COMPLETING PIERS A AND D MAY THEN PROCEED. PROCEDURE-168 FT. SPAN APPROX. 85 TONS OF STRUCTURAL STEEL THE SAME PROCEDURE AS OUTLINED ABOVE FOR THE 150 FT. SPANS MAY BE FOLLOWED UNTIL THE SPAN ARRIVES AT THE NEW BRIDGE SITE. NEAR THE NEW BRIDGE SITE, TEMPORARY PILE PIERS SHOULD BE DRIVEN TO SUPPORT THE SPAN AT ITS ENDS AND ALSO AT THE Ll JOINTS OR A JOINT 21 FT. FROM THE ENDS TOWARD THE CENTERLINE OF SPAN.

THE SPAN SHOULD BE LOWERED TO THESE BENTS AND THE BARGEMAY THEN BE RESTORED TO OTHER WORK UNTIL THE INDIVIDUAL TRUSSES ARE READY TO BE ERECTED INTO FINAL POSITION. THE TOP AND BOTTOM LATERALS, SWAY FRAMES, FLOOR BEAMS, AND PORTALS SHOULD BE DISCONNECTED FROM EACH TRUSS AND THE PORTALS ANS SWAY FRAMES MOVED TO THE BANK AND EXTENDED AS SHOWN ON THE PLANS. THE TWO TRUSSES SHOULD BE SKIDDED TOGETHER, LASHED, AND BRACED TO THE FALSEWORK BENTS. U.S. 15 SANTEE RIVER BRIDGE (SC 45 Santee-Cooper Diversion Canal Bridge) HAER No. ~~ WHEN THE PORTALS, SWAY FRAMES, LATERALS, AND NEW FLOOR BEAMS ARE READY FOR ERECTION, THE BARGE MAY RETURN AND ALL SPAN MATERIAL MAY BE PLACED ON THE BARGE AND SPOTTED ALONGSIDE THE NEW PIERS.

IN THE MEANWHILE, OUTRIGGERS MAY BE SECURELY FASTENED TO THE CAPS OF PIERS B & C TO SERVE AS MEANS OF BRACING THE INDIVIDUAL TRUSSES IN THEIR FINAL POSITION UNTIL THE EXTENDED SWAY FRAMES, PORTALS, AND NEW FLOOR BEAMS HAVE BEEN SET IN PLACE AND SECURELY BOLTED TO THE TRUSSES. THE JACKING COLUMNS MAY BE USED AS OUTRIGGERS, THE OUTRIGGERS RESTING ON THE PIER CAPS BENHIND THE SHOE POSTIONS AND PROJECTING ABOUT 25 FT. BEYOND THE ENDS OF THE CAPS. CABLES SHOULD BE PLACED FROM THE OUTER ENDS OF THE OUTRIGGERS DOWNWARD AND FASTENED AROUND THE PIER SHAFTS NEAR WATER LEVEL, AND ALSO CABLES SHOULD BE PLACED FROM THE ENDS OF THE OUTRIGGERS AND FASTENED TO THE CAPS OF PIERS A & D.

THE ENDS OF THE OUTRIGGERS SHOULD ALSO BE HOG-RODDED TOGETHER IN A VERICAL PLANE BY MEANS OF VERICAL STRUTS RESTING ON THE PIER CAPS. AFTER AN INDIVIUAL TRUSS IS LIFTED FROM THE BARGE AND SET IN PLACE BY MEANS OF CRANES RESTING ON THE ENDS OF THE 150 FT. DECK TRUSSES NEAR PIERS B & C, THE TRUSS SHOULD BE CABLED TO THE

End of the Outriggers from the

Ul AND U2 PANEL POINTS. AFTER THE TWO TRUSSES ARE IN PLACE AND BOLTED TOGETHER WITH THE LATERALS, SWAY FRAMES, FLOOR BEAMS, AND PORTALS, THE OUTRIGGER BRACING SYSTEM MAY BE REMOVED.