Get Involved with Our Current Project
Avid offshore fishing enthusiasts know that the state of SC suffers from a lack of natural habitat to attract and hold fish. Thanks to the South Carolina Memorial Reef projects, what was largely a desert is now one of the most productive areas off our coast. The reef is an ideal location for holding pelagics while creating spawning habitat for bottom snapper grouper species. We invite you to learn about our current Highway 21 Swing Bridge Project below. The difference this could make in our fishery is profound and an opportunity that may not happen again in our lifetimes. Please consider supporting us with a tax-deductible donation.
Help Us Transport and Sink the Highway 21 Swing Bridge
Swing bridge structures are prized reef material because of their vertical profile; however, they are exceedingly rare because they have to be locally sourced. There are only a handful of candidates even marked for replacement in the near future. Fortunately, the SCDOT is in the process of replacing the Highway 21 swing bridge to Hunting Island. The contractor would normally sell the structure to be cut up for scrap, but the DNR team has negotiated a procurement deal. We are now raising funds to take advantage of this unique opportunity to secure a second swing bridge in the local area for the Charleston Deep Reef.
This is the current Harbor River Bridge on Highway 21 in Beaufort County which will ultimately be sunk to become part of the Deep Reef. | Photography Credit: Rich Lamprey
Show Your Support
If we can raise $300,000 in donations and pledges by June of 2021, we can transport and sink the Highway 21 bridge intact attached to a barge. The plan is to deploy the material in 350 feet of water approximately one mile south of the sunken Highway 41 swing bridge. The result will be 42 feet of vertical structure that is 250 feet long and 35 feet wide to help continue building the reef.
Plan to Deploy the Bridge and Barge
Crews will remove the bridge deck from truss, collect miscellaneous steel and control house asbestos.
A barge will be procured, mobilized and staged prior to demo.
The barge will be prepped to place the truss on and tie downs for transport.
Contract a heavy lift crane to lift the bridge and place onto the barge. The estimated weight of the bridge is 150 to 180 tons.
The truss will be secured to the barge and moored until deployment.
The barge will be towed to the reef location at the scheduled deployment and sunk.
The new Harbor River Bridge in Beaufort County is under construction. | Photography Credit: Marcos Chill
If we can raise the necessary funds, we can transport and sink the Highway 21 bridge attached to a barge.
Highway 41 Swing Bridge Sunk in 2017 to Continue Building the Reef
The former South Carolina Highway 41 swing bridge hit the bottom of the ocean on October 27th, 2017 to build upon the habitat already started for the Deep Reef in 2014. | Photography Credit: SCDNR R/V Palmetto
The first swing bridge that was secured for the South Carolina Memorial Reef was from Highway 41. It was placed on top of a 130 X 32 X 12 foot barge and placed within the Charleston Deep Reef MPA in 2017. The vertical structure has helped to attract even more imperiled deep-water snapper grouper species, as well as the pelagic fish that South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series participants target.
Two Barges Sunk in 2014 to Initiate Building of the Charleston Deep Reef
The original structures that were sunk in the ocean to start the building of the Charleston Deep Reef in 2014 was constructed of two barges, a crane and a truck chassis. | Photography Credit: SCDNR R/V Palmetto
The Charleston Deep Reef Project was originally going to be built from the scraps of the old Cooper River bridges. Since those structures were ultimately unavailable, the building of the reef was initiated in 2014 with two 270 foot long barges, a large crane and a truck chassis that were found to build the reef. Stevens Towing / Metal Trades stored the materials, created the structure and towed the artificial reef to the site.