By Peter HildebrandtCEG CORRESPONDENT

With movies like Forrest Gump,The Big Chill, The Great Santiniand The Prince of Tides, beingfilmed there, the Beaufort, S.C., areahas become established on the bigscreen as a place of memorable mag-nificence, with its graceful bridgesand scenic waterways.

Area highway construction isworking at keeping both the town’sbridges practical, efficient, well-builtand unobtrusively picturesque.Building is under way on the twinbridge to the existing McTeer Bridge(SC 802) over the Beaufort River(Intracoastal Waterway) from LadiesIsland to Port Royal, S.C. The newstructure rises and falls over thewater of the tidal river and nearbysalt marshes while at the same timeproviding an inviting means acrossthe water— just in case one’s Bostonwhaler, sunfish or kickboard don’thappen to be handy.

The new bridge is a two-lane,fixed-span, reinforced concretebridge. Traffic will continue on theolder span, built in 1978 and stillstructurally sound. This older spancurrently has 20,000 cars per day onaverage passing over it. In the end,the new two-lane bridge will be alleastbound and the older two-lanebridge will be all westbound.

This project will alleviate trafficfor residents of Ladies Island, FrippIsland, Port Royal and surroundingcommunities. Currently the projecthas some 65 workers. On average the project maintains 55people involved in the work.

Work started on this project in September of 2009 and isprojected to be complete by the end of July in 2011. Theprice of the bridge is $35 million with a total project value ofabout $52 million for the overall initiative, including the roadwork being done by Sanders Brothers ConstructionCompany Inc., Charleston, S.C.

The bridge is 4,211 ft. (1,283 m) long with a main span of170 ft. (51.8 m) long and 65 ft. (19.8 m) above high water

level.The prime contractor, United Contractors LLC, is respon-

sible for management of all of the superstructure work andpile driving on the bridge, while Misener Marine, the majorsub-contractor, is responsible for all substructure work andmass concrete pours for the main spans.

Donald Anderson, project manager of United Contractors,explained that the largest challenge on this job has been thehigh fluctuation in tides and the strong current that runsthrough this stretch of river. This challenge has been over-

come and has become easier to handle as the crews gainmore experience working with it.

The general superintendent on the job, Duane Lightsey,started his career working out of high school by finishing upthe old bridge that is next to the new bridge he’s now work-ing on. He worked on the first bridge as a skilled laborer forone of United Contractors’ founding companies, Ryan Inc.

“The majority of the people that were associated withbuilding the old McTeer bridge are still around in our

Work Proceeds on Large Bridge in Cinematic Beaufort

THE CAROLINA STATES EDITION A Supplement to:

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November 32010

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Currently there are a total of nine cranes on site in use betweenMisener Marine and United Contractors.

see BEAUFORT page 6

Page 2 • November 3, 2010 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Panel Recommends RaisingS.C.’s Gas Tax for Roads

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Legislators willconsider a plan next year that would raise thegasoline tax in South Carolina by a nickelper gallon, begin taxing water, electricity andprescription drugs, and reinstate a grocerytax.

A panel studying taxes voted unanimous-ly Sept. 2 to recommend increasing the stategas tax to 21 cents per gallon to generate anadditional $150 million yearly for roadwork. It also voted to add a 1.25 percent taxto water and electricity bills and prescriptiondrugs; and to reinstate a tax on groceries at2.95 percent. Unprepared food had beentaxed at 5 percent before legislators cut it to3 percent in 2006, and eliminated it in 2007.

The 10-member Tax RealignmentCommission will finalize the rest of its reportover several more meetings and send its rec-ommendations to legislators, who createdthe panel last year as a way to overhaulSouth Carolina's tax system.

At the time, lawmakers said a comprehen-sive study was needed to avoid the piece-meal changes they usually pass, which cancreate unexpected problems. They alsohoped to make it easier to eliminate or alteroutdated tax exemptions, because attemptsto toss any out singly provoke oppositionfrom affected interest groups and kill theeffort.

The state has more than 120 sales taxexemptions or caps, which the state’s Boardof Economic Advisors values at $2.8 billion.Dozens of those would be repealed or mod-ified.

But recommendations from the commis-sion, which began meeting last September,are sure to be met with resistance. For itsproposal to become law, legislators mustsponsor it as a bill, then muster majority

approval in the House and Senate. While it would lower the state’s general

sales tax rate from 6 percent to 5 percent, itwould apply the tax to services that are cur-rently exempt, such as hair cuts, computerrepair, and gyms. The idea of tacking ontaxes to necessities has invited criticism.

“I can’t imagine it passing,” state Rep.Leon Starvinakis, D-Charleston, told TheState newspaper of Columbia. “I considermyself a moderate person but I — and, Iwould think, most others — are not going toconsider tax increases in this kind of econo-my. And I’m certainly not going to supporttaxes on basic services.”

GOP gubernatorial nominee Nikki Haleyhas said she favors restoring a tax on gro-ceries.

“Look at that grocery sales tax. It didn’tcreate the first job, not the first job, so that issomething that’s not being productive,” shetold The AP during the primary race, whilelaying out the need for comprehensive taxreform.

Democratic nominee Vincent Sheheen,who also calls for a tax overhaul, said heopposes taxing groceries. Neither will weighin on the commission’s other recommenda-tions so far.

South Carolina’s current 16-cents-per-gal-lon gas tax, unchanged since 1987, is thenation’s third-lowest, and raises about $500million yearly for road construction. But col-lections have been flat or shrinking, partlybecause of better fuel efficiency, and SouthCarolina ranks 49th in state support for roadwork, according to the commission.

“I don’t think anyone would disagree theroads are in pretty bad shape,” said commis-sion member Kenneth Cosgrove.

Sen. Graham: Next Step forI-73 in S.C. Is Interchange

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) U.S. Sen.Lindsey Graham said the next step forInterstate 73 in South Carolina is an inter-change in Dillon County.

Multiple media outlets reported thatGraham spoke Aug. 27 on the long-plannedinterstate to the heart of the state's tourismindustry across six states from Michigan toMyrtle Beach. Its 90-mi. trek through fourSouth Carolina counties is expected to cost$2 billion.

The $150 million interchange would con-nect U.S. Highway 501 to Interstate 95.Graham said about half the funding is avail-able, so the state needs to appropriate theremaining $75 million.

A study released in January 2009 said theSouth Carolina leg of I-73 could create thou-sands of jobs and generate more than $1 bil-lion in household income during the five-year construction.

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Page 4 • November 3, 2010 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide Construction Equipment Guide • North & South Carolina State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • November 3, 2010 • Page 5

Page 6 • November 3, 2010 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

company,” said Anderson. Lightsey’s fatherwas a superintendent back when they builtthe old bridge and now works while retiredas a crane operator for the company.

“He has a vast amount of experience,”said Anderson. “This isn’t the onlyfather/son team we have. The company hasa number of other such situations, leading toa tremendous amount of cumulative experi-ence. You’re not only getting the expertise ofone generation of a builder who has 25 or 30years in, but you are getting a new genera-tion with plenty of skills necessary for thework as well.”

Though things are moving along smooth-ly, there was a bit of a problem getting off onthe right step at the start. One of their sub-contractors on the job had some problemsgetting equipment moved from one locationto another. This was purely a logistics issue,though.

The only issues that arose with wildlife orthe environment, was a concern about baldeagles nesting down the Beaufort River.The project has had no impact on thenest site or the bald eagles.

Anderson is a strong proponent ofstaying ahead of your project. “A man-ager must be always looking out forthings on their project. If you’re not amonth ahead, you’re too late; our engi-neering degrees are helpful, but practicalexperience is important as well; we useboth that and the book-smarts to antici-pate problems coming up,” Andersonexplained.

Anderson has worked for mega con-tractor construction firms as well, butsees great benefits in UnitedContractors’ use of some of the longestretained workforce in the industry. Theyhave carpenters who have worked forthe company for 25 years. An experi-enced individual who works for the firmis called “Bridge Builder.” They can berelied on to do all aspects of bridge con-struction from building forms to drivinga pile.

“If you hire someone off the street, asmega-contractor construction compa-nies often do, frequently you have notime to train them properly,” said Anderson.“Our company views experience as countingfor something. The mega-contractors hireworkers when they arrive at a job site andwhen the job is over they are done with thoseworkers. We take all of ours with us on jobsand put them up in hotels.

The Beaufort River Bridge was a hard-bidbuild, mainly because it was the first bridgein Beaufort County supported by a sales tax,as the county is actually paying for it. Withthis being a local issue involving only a onepercent sales tax, protest was minimal. It’s

easy to go out to dinner and then think ‘I haddinner and by the way, I also paid somethingtoward building a bridge in the area’.”

The County will hand over the mainte-nance on the bridge to South CarolinaDepartment of Transportation. It is actuallycheaper for the county to use this method ofsetting things up. County residents have thebenefit of the bridge and the state the benefitof the added infrastructure, with their onlycosts that of maintaining it.

The job only has a negative impact on thesurrounding community when one lane of

the existing bridge is closed to use as a con-struction staging area for concrete pours.This work is completed at night during timesof low traffic volumes to minimize theimpact. As always, the negative effect tolocal environmental issues is minimized asmuch as possible.

Currently there are a total of nine craneson site in use between Misener Marine andUnited Contractors. There are two American9299, two Manitowoc 4100 Series II, oneLink-Belt LS-138H, one Link-Belt 238H,one American HC80 and one Tadano 45 ton

rough-terrain crane.Most of the cranes are currently being

used for lifting and moving materials, rebarand concrete forms into place on the job site.The cranes also are being used for drivingand removing sheet pile for cofferdams,driving pre-stressed concrete pile, drivingdrill shaft casings, and setting pre-stressedgirders, and footer rebar and forms. Therealso is one drill rig, a Manitowoc 4100Series II on site which is being used to drillthe shaft foundations for the bridge.

The biggest crane on site is a Manitowoc4100 Series II, 230-ton crawler crane.Misener Marine currently has two of thesecranes on site and they are used to pick andset the reinforced concrete beams. Thesmallest crane is an all-terrain crane which isused for everything from moving shugartbarges alongside the bridge, to miscella-neous materials. This crane is a Tadano 4-wheel drive crane and has a 50-ton capacity.

Anderson and Lightsey split their timebetween Beaufort and another project inSavannah.

“I look at the way we’ve effectively divid-ed our forces as being almost like a military-type problem: moving equipment, manpow-er and technical support as needed. Safetyhas been a number one priority on this job aswith all other work done by UnitedContractors LLC,” Anderson stated.

Beaufort County remains ready for itsnext “close-up.” The ribbon-cutting shouldtake place in July, 2011.

(This story also can be found onConstruction Equipment Guide’s Web siteat www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)CEG

Crews Surmount Tide Fluctuations, Strong River CurrentsBEAUFORT from page 1

Work started on this project in September of 2009 and is projected to be complete bythe end of July in 2011.

Building is underway on thetwin bridge to the existingMcTeer Bridge (SC 802) overthe Beaufort River(Intracoastal Waterway)from Ladies Island to PortRoyal, S.C.

Construction Equipment Guide • North & South Carolina State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • November 3, 2010 • Page 7

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Page 8 • November 3, 2010 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

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