The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-05-24
/ IN MAGNIFICENT HIGHWAY
Charleston to Have Stretch of Sixty Miles One
Year Hence From Battery to Sa1tee
Riyer-Thence ON Into North
Carolina

Charleston. May 13.-From the
battery in Charleston. straishtaway
over a so foot wide highway. for
go miles. the first Is miles hard
surface and the other 40 OF
smooth sand gravel, through a love-
ly, semi-tropical countryside rich in
history and romance. the motorlst
a wear hence will be able to drive
to the Santee river and there make
a crossing by a splendid concrete
bridge into the Pee Dee section OF
South Carolina, through which
good roads carry on to North Car
DINA. Fifty-siX miles from Char
lesion at 1.-The high hills of San
tee suddenly a plunge will be made
into the heart of the great Santee
swamp for a three mile drive up
on an elevated highway, 80 feet
above the surface constructed OF
solid earth and concrete trestling
in alternate sections, 26 feet wide
at the top and Ito feet at the base.
Across the river another stretch OF
a mile Of the same elevated drive
way will bring the motorist to high
lands in Williamsburg county. Such
is the magnificent project which is
now we'll under way of construc-
ton by the state highway depart
ment the Santee bridge commission
and the county authorities of
Charleston, Berkeley and Wi'iams-
burg, a work &C such (, agnitude
and so we'll advanced toward real
ization already that it must be seen
to be understood and appreciated.
Through the Jungle.
The feature of tie project, Of
course, is the bridge across the San
tee and its approaches, and it is one
of the most interesting and impress
sive pieces of roadway building in
this country and will undoubtedly
become famous in the records Of
automobile touring. The Santee
swamp, with its jungle growth and
its recurring overflow from the
river freshets. presents supreme
difficulties to highway building and
appears to be utterly impossible.
It has been impossible to vehicles
since the beginning of time. except
for the railroads which have trestl-
ed their way through it. and only
a bold and costly assault upon it
could succeed. This has been
made and the problem solved by a
major operation of engineering.
and the result will be the Opening
up of a line Of communication be-
tween sections Of the state hither-
to separated by a natural barrier
and the forging Of an essential
link in the long desired Atlantic
coastal highway. The work on The
approaches to the bridge and on
the foundations of the bridge itself
have been under way for the past
six months and much progress has
been made. but it will require prob
ably another year to complete the
project. Enough has been accom-
plished, however, to show the
form and scope of the undertake
ing and an inspection of it is rap
idly feasible and we'll worth a half
days motor trip. The journey can
be made from Charleston to the
base of operations in three hours
or less and the road-only part of
it at present the future highway
is nearly all of it easy driving and
only short stretches are at all diff
ficult.
How it is Done.
The headquarters of the contrac-
tors and the beginning Of the ap-
preach work is near St. Stephens,
on the high ridges that mark the
terrain and on the very edge Of the
great swamp. There rs the great
burrow pit from which the mater
ial for the fill is being taken by
steam shovels to be hauled by train
loads to the swamp and also the
forms in which the concrete piles
are being cast for the permanent
trsetling. The burrow pit looks
like Gaillard cut in the Panama
canal. A standard gauge railroad
track with two trains Of cars filing
and dumping all day Of the material
.scooped out by the steam shovel is
laid and relaid as the cut is widen
ed. Already 100000 cubic yards Of
this material has been moved and
it is estimated that a total of be-
tween 100000 and 500 600 cubic
yards will be used. The material is
of a very fine quality for it's pur-
pose, being a mixture Of clay and
sand, packing hard and making an
ideal embankment, which Will
stand. the engineers say, for all
time and make a solid foundation
for the roadway on it's surface.
The trains run along timber con-
struction treStles through the wi2e
clearing that has been made into
the swamp and dump the earth to
build up the enlbankment unt,i 1t
reaches a height Of % feet, with
the prescribed slope and surface.
The first section of this work on
the Berkeley side has been com
pleted and a beginning has been
made on the first concrete tresi;e
which is to alternate with the dir
ill. This first trestle will be 700
feet long, and beyond it another
embankment is in course Of con-
struction. At the end OF that a
second concrete trestle with n span
of 1890 feet is to be built. This
alternate trestling and earth work
will extend for three miles on this
side of the river with the seeming
ly impenetrable swamp ca either
hand and in the freShet ScHSCn. The