"This is a fluid situation, and circumstances may change," Sullivan's Island Police Chief Glenn Meadows said when the Town shared the Ben Sawyer Bridge's temporary schedule, as Live 5 reported on Oct. 22. Under that schedule, the swing span opens for boats at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Each opening can keep the road closed for up to 25 minutes. A normal opening averages 10 to 12 minutes.
The waits are longer, but they now come at set times. For as long as this schedule holds, a driver can know before leaving home exactly when the bridge will stop traffic. The harder problems are the weight limit, which keeps heavy trucks off the bridge, and the permanent repair, which has no date.
What broke, and what is running now
On Monday, Oct. 19, shortly after 4:30 p.m., the main span failed to lock back into place after rotating. WCBD reported that crews made temporary repairs overnight and reopened the bridge to drivers early Tuesday, with another overnight closure after that. Kelly Moore, SCDOT's chief of staff, explained the failure to the station. "Any time that it moves and something is out of alignment or off balance, it can cause problems as it tries to lock back into place," she said.
Passenger cars are crossing again. Trucks over the posted 13-ton limit are not. School buses and emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, are still allowed across. Moore also told WCBD that the bridge is safe for motorists and that SCDOT would close it immediately if it ever stopped being safe.
The bridge used to open on request
Most drivers don't know the bridge's normal rules, because a normal opening is just a short wait at a random moment. Those rules are set by federal regulation. 33 CFR 117.911 says the Ben Sawyer opens whenever a boat signals, with two exceptions. On weekdays it doesn't have to open during the 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. rush hours. On weekends and federal holidays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., it only has to open on the hour.
| Normal rules | Temporary schedule as of Oct. 22 | |
|---|---|---|
| When it opens | On signal, except weekday rush hours; on the hour on weekend days | 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. |
| Possible openings on a weekend day | Up to one an hour from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Three |
| Typical length | 10 to 12 minutes on average | Up to 25 minutes |
| Coordinated by | Federal drawbridge rule | SCDOT with the U.S. Coast Guard |
The Post and Courier described the new times as "limited, off-peak marine openings." The 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. openings land in the middle of the day, well away from the weekday rush windows the federal rule already protects. The 7 p.m. opening is different. It falls at dinnertime, when people cross from Mount Pleasant for dinner at island spots like Poe's Tavern, Home Team BBQ, Dunleavy's Pub and Mex 1, all of which were in the lineup for the Island Club's Taste of Sullivan's Island fundraiser on Oct. 17. WCIV noted that a 25-minute hold is "more than twice the normal time." A reservation at 7 p.m. or soon after now comes with a known wait, and the Isle of Palms Connector is the way around it.
The new schedule has a cost on the water too, since the bridge spans the Intracoastal Waterway. A boat that used to get an opening on request now waits for one of three daily windows. The federal rule also says U.S. public vessels and tugs with tows are to be let through whenever they properly signal. The schedule is temporary, and the Coast Guard posts changes for boaters. This is general information, not legal advice, so anyone planning a passage should confirm the current rules with the Coast Guard or SCDOT.
Thirteen tons takes the long way
A car driver can time the bridge, but a loaded truck over the limit has to take another route entirely. The Post and Courier reported that Chief Meadows directed heavy trucks to the Isle of Palms Connector. The Town recommends the same detour for any driver avoiding a closure. That means heavy trucks reach Sullivan's from the north end, through Isle of Palms, instead of crossing straight from Mount Pleasant.
Rick Todd, president and CEO of the South Carolina Trucking Association, explained the cost to WCBD. A restriction "determines where they can go and then how long that particular service route becomes," he said, which adds mileage, fuel and driver time. He added that alternate routes can affect deliveries, construction projects and other businesses that depend on commercial trucking. On an island where every heavy load comes over one of two bridges, that applies to deliveries for a renovation, a new HVAC unit or a restaurant's restock. If you have work scheduled this fall, ask the contractor or supplier which route their trucks will take.
The dates on the calendar
So far, SCDOT has given more notice for its nighttime work than for anything else. Its Roadway Information System lists right-lane closures with flaggers on the bridge for inspections from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on these nights:
- Thursday, Oct. 29
- Friday, Oct. 30
- Sunday, Nov. 1
- Tuesday, Nov. 17
These are listed as temporary lane closures. The bridge stays open during them. WCBD reported that SCDOT has not said when the next extended closure will happen, and that officials promise advance notice before any additional closures.
The Town's own events start before the last inspection night and continue after it. The Town Administrator's Sept. 29 fall message lists the LOWVELO charity bike ride on Nov. 7, Art on the Beach on Nov. 8, and the Station Lighting and Fireworks on Dec. 4. If the temporary schedule is still running, the bridge will open at 2 p.m. on Art on the Beach day and at 7 p.m. on Station Lighting night. Out-of-town guests coming over that evening may want to plan their arrival around it.
A 1945 bridge whose next phase has no date
The Ben Sawyer has broken before and been rebuilt. It was built in 1945. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo dropped the swing span into a tilt of roughly 45 degrees. According to SCDOT's account, crews lifted it back into place on Oct. 5, 1989, and one lane reopened on Oct. 8. On Aug. 21, 2008, SCDOT approved a $40 million, federally funded rehabilitation that included a new steel superstructure for the swing span and new electrical and mechanical systems. A Federal Highway Administration report records that the 2010 project kept the original substructure and closed the bridge completely for 10 days, starting the week of Feb. 7, 2010.
The mechanical systems from that rebuild are now about 16 years old, and they have needed attention more often lately. WCBD covered a morning closure for repairs on Jan. 10, 2024. On July 11 of this year, Live 5 reported a brief malfunction closure that sent island traffic to the IOP Connector until it was fixed. October's failure is the second this year.
A larger project is planned, but its scope and timing are not. In July 2025, Live 5 reported that the Ben Sawyer was one of nine Charleston County bridges added to SCDOT's repair and replacement program, at number 61. Bridges are roughly addressed in list order. In Charleston County, the Cosgrove Avenue Bridge sits at 31 and the U.S. 17 northbound bridge over the Ashley River at 54. Moore told the station that the work "could be a rehabilitation project, which would include some repairs and rehab work to the bridge, or it could be a full replacement." Live 5 reported that the start date was unclear. As of WCBD's Oct. 21 report, SCDOT had not announced a timeline for permanent repairs from this month's malfunction either.
Where changes will show up first
The schedule could change at any time, so it helps to know which channel carries which kind of update:
- TOSI Talks: the Town's text service for town news and garbage and recycling schedule changes. Text "Hello" to 855-675-8674. Sign up on the Town Notification Sign-Ups page.
- Everbridge: Town alerts that can include road closures and public works projects, set up through the same page.
- SC 511: live traffic conditions and cameras.
- SCDOT Roadway Information System: scheduled lane closures and maintenance work, including the inspection nights above.
A renovation that depends on heavy deliveries, or a closing date set while the bridge is restricted, now has to account for the weight limit and the opening times. If you are planning either on the island this fall, Smith Spencer Real Estate can help you build the bridge schedule into your timeline. Contact Us.
