Perhaps a better question would be why South Carolina opted to replace a swing bridge built in the 1940s with another swing bridge, an exact replicate, rather than replacing it with a high rise. The answer is, of course, that the wealthy residents of Sullivan's Island consider "their" old bridge quaint and they were afraid that a high rise bridge might bring more people to "their" island.

The replacement center span is being constructed off site and will be put in place by cranes. Work on the approaches has been going on for close to a year. The contractor, by contract, is only allowed to inconvenience automobile traffic for 7 days during which the new bridge will be put in place. There is apparently no limit to how long ICW traffic can be inconvenienced (10 days, maybe more).

When he is not hiking the Appalachian trail, or wooing in Argentina, or pissing off the State Legislature, our Governor lives on Sullivan's Island; but I doubt that his living there was a factor in the timing of the bridge replacement.

Jim Smiley (I live on the Isle of Palms, immediately N of Sullivan's Island)