The James B. Edwards Bridge is a pair of pre-cast concrete box girder

Box girder bridge

A box girder bridge is a bridge in which the main beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises either prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite of steel and reinforced concrete. The box is typically rectangular or trapezoidal in cross-section...

 bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

s that span the Wando River

Wando River

The Wando River is a tidewater river in the coastal area of South Carolina. It begins in the town of Awendaw and empties into the Cooper River at Charleston Harbor. Its drainage area is . -External links:...

 between Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Mount Pleasant is a large affluent suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is a member of the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area, for statistical purpose only, as designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget....

 and Daniel Island

Daniel Island

Daniel Island is a island located in the City of Charleston, South Carolina . It is located in Berkely County and situated between the Cooper and Wando Rivers...

. It was built in 1989 by the South Carolina Department of Transportation

South Carolina Department of Transportation

The South Carolina Department of Transportation is a government agency in the US state of South Carolina. Its mission is to build and maintain roads and bridges and administer mass transit services....

.

The bridge is named for James B. Edwards

James B. Edwards

James Burrows Edwards is a politician and administrator from South Carolina. He was the first Republican to be elected the Governor of South Carolina since Reconstruction.-Early life and career:...

, who was a governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, Secretary of Energy

United States Secretary of Energy

The United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the President's Cabinet, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was formed on October 1, 1977 with the creation of the Department of Energy when President Jimmy...

, and long-time president of the Medical University of South Carolina

Medical University of South Carolina

The Medical University of South Carolina opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 as a small private college for the training of physicians. It is one of the oldest continually operating school of medicine in the United States and the oldest in the Deep South...

.

The bridge was constructed of pre-cast concrete segments using top-down construction. Segments were transported along already completed spans and put in place from above. This construction method was selected to reduce construction impacts on the marsh

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

areas along the banks of the Wando River.