65-foot The building, which is 4,250 feet (1,300 meters) long and 65 feet (20 meters) tall, was built under contract for the NC DOT and comprises of 37 concrete girder main spans and 28 hollow-core concrete slab approach spans. The bridge is tied together with steel wire rather than mortar. It opened to traffic in 1952 and connects North Carolina's Currituck County with South Carolina's York County. The bridge crosses over the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and connects U.S. Route 58 with Main Street (which becomes South Caddy Road). It is part of the only road connection between Beaufort and Port Royal Island. The bridge was designed by Thomas Lee Jaques and Associates and constructed by the W.J. Byron Company. Its total cost was $3.7 million ($ when it was built). It has been named one of the 11 most endangered bridges in America. The National Park Service lists the bridge as "high priority" for preservation because it provides a vital connection between the mainland and the island park and serves as a public gateway. In 2005, after several years of negotiations, the two countries agreed to have the United States take control of the bridge because they couldn't come to an agreement on who should pay for its maintenance.