The Ravenel Bridge (2002 - 2005) was a
design-build project where the
design and construction aspects of the project overlap.
From August 23, 2003 until July 16, 2005,
I tracked the construction of the Ravenel Bridge than this web site
evolved from a so-so grandkids project to a passion. SCDOT (Bobby Clair),
PBC (Wade Watson, Peo Halvarsson, Marvin Tallent), High Steel
(Bill Mankin) and Freyssinet (Olivier Forget) opened many doors for me.
Skanska
has provided an excellent summary of the major innovations of
our bridge. The Ravenel Bridge replaces the Grace Bridge (1929 - 2007) and
the Pearman Bridge (1966 - 2007).
It was a privilege to look inside the project
and, with photo essays, document many
of the bridge construction processes. While the building is
complete, the story of the builders and the Charleston Community continues.
I moved to Sinapore in March of 2006. In Singapore, my
photo interests have shifted from construction processes to behavior of
small insects and spiders.
Without parents, books or the Internet, how do they learn
to weave and repair a web, capture prey and reproduce?
No design-build here, just plain building life. And speaking of
life, T. S. Eliot, in the Four Quartets,
captured the essence of our adventure:
Old men ought to be explorers
Here and there does not matter
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity
For a further union, a deeper communion
From T.S. Eliot (East Coker from the Four Quartets)
