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Don Holt Bridge
Coordinates	32°53′28″N 79°57′47″W / 32.89111°N 79.96306°W / 32.89111; -79.96306
Carries	I-526
Crosses	Cooper River
Locale	North Charleston, Charleston
Official name	Don N. Holt Bridge
Maintained by	South Carolina Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Continuous truss bridge
Width	93 feet 7 inches (28.52 m), 6 lanes of traffic
Longest span	800 feet (240 m)
Clearance below	155 feet (47 m)
History
Construction end	1992
Opened	March 10, 1992; 32 years ago (1992-03-10)
Statistics
Daily traffic	72,200
Location

The Don N. Holt Bridge is a parallel chord, three-span continuous, modified Warren-type truss bridge that carries Interstate 526 (I-526) over the Cooper River between Charleston and North Charleston. It was built in 1992 by the South Carolina Department of Transportation and was designed by HNTB Corporation.

The bridge provides a connection between the communities east of the Cooper River, including Mount Pleasant and Daniel Island, to North Charleston and I-26. It is part of a major hurricane evacuation route for the area.

The Don Holt Bridge is adjacent to a Kapstone (formerly MeadWestvaco) paper mill. In the mid 1980s, prior to construction of the bridge, owners of the mill filed a lawsuit to stop the bridge because the bridge deck would be at the same height as smokestacks from the mill. In certain weather conditions, the smokestacks produce a fog which could blind drivers and place the mill at risk for lawsuits from drivers. The lawsuit was settled by mandating that a road weather information system (RWIS) be included in the bridge project. The RWIS was designed to detect reduced visibility on the bridge and "to inform drivers of dense fog conditions, reduce traffic speeds, and guide vehicles safely through the fog-prone area." The system uses variable-message signs and illuminating pavement lights (similar to a runway centerline lighting system). As of May 2003, there were no fog-related crashes.

The bridge was named for Don N. Holt who served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and was in the insurance business.

See also

• Transport portal
• Engineering portal
• United States portal

References

• Cornell University Case Study of the Don Holt Bridge
• Map showing boundaries of City of Charleston

1. SCDOT Traffic Counts, Accessed April 19, 2007
2. Goodwin, Lynette C. (May 2003), "Best Practices for Road Weather Management". Federal Highway Administration, Washington DC. p. 46-47. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
3. Concurrent Resolution of the South Carolina General Assembly

Crossings of the Cooper River
Upstream CSX railroad Cordesville swing bridge Don N. Holt Bridge Downstream Cooper River Bridge (1929–2005) Former

• Continuous truss bridges in the United States
• Bridges in Charleston, South Carolina
• Bridges in North Charleston, South Carolina
• Bridges completed in 1992
• Road bridges in South Carolina
• Interstate 26
• Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
• Warren truss bridges in the United States