By Delayna Earley
The Island News
There may be some permanent changes to the hours that the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge would allow the swing bridge to remain open during a given day.
The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed that the swing bridge remain open to traffic during morning and afternoon drive times and the public is invited to provide feedback on the proposed change.
In the proposal, the swing bridge would not open to boat traffic from 6 a.m. to 9:29 a.m. and 3:31 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday with an exception for emergencies and other exceptions “granted by regulations.”
The hope is that this would make traffic flow more smoothly during this time as Wood Bridge connects downtown Beaufort to Lady’s Island and is one of only two bridges that drivers can use to get onto the island.
From 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the swing bridge can open once an hour on the half hour for boat traffic as needed, according to the release from the City of Beaufort. Otherwise, the swing bridge will open on signal.
The proposal would permanently instate the temporarily modified schedule with the same drive time provisions that began on March 25, 2024, and is expected to continue through at least Nov. 30.
“I thank the Coast Guard for moving this study forward and appreciate the collaboration of all levels of government working on our historic swing bridge opening schedule,” said S.C. Rep. Shannon Erickson. “I look forward to a robust round of public comment from our community and others so that the best outcomes can be derived.”
According to the release, Erickson worked closely with Beaufort County and the City of Beaufort to make this change happen.
The public is invited to comment on this rule change in the Federal Register at www.reguations.gov. Type USCG-2024-0198 in the search box and click “Search”.
Next, look for this document in the Search Results column and click on it. Then click on the Comment option.
All public comments are encouraged to be made by Dec. 9, 2024, according to the release.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
