Don Brock is the tender of the Ashley River Bridges which connect historic Charleston, SC with its West Ashley suburbs. He spends many of his nights above the bridge in the silver tender's house (surrounded by lights on the Southern bridge, the adjacent older bridge is also controlled remotely from his location). Don's an old friend having Christmas Breakfast with us this morning, but he'll be back up there waiting to open the bridge tonight from 4 - Midnight. The bridge isn't working right now so he job is to communicate about emergencies and with any ships which might be trying to clear the bridge. It's pretty quiet.
The river this bridge crosses is one of the most historic in the United States. It runs up about a mile to the location where the colony of South Carolina was founded in 1670. The British fought their way across it in the Revolution to occupy Charleston. During the Civil war the retreating Confederates burned it down. A new Venitian style WWI Memorial bridge with four spired houses was constructed early in the 20th. Century. This plainer bridge came mid century. A barge ran into this bridge about 50 years ago as it was opening and damaged it. A new tender's house was constructed with a gabled roof and special lighting about a decade ago. Currently, this bridge is best known for the effort to devote one of it's lanes to a bike path which would allow cyclists on the East Coast Greenway and locally to travel between Charleston and West Ashley.
Image of the Bridge House Don Works in. Traffic on this bridge is all one way, so you'll see it on the left side.
It's quiet up in the bridge house. The Ashley river only runs inland about 20 miles before it fades into the swamps, so there's very little commercial traffic. Pleasure boats and barges for maintaining docks and bridges compose most of the traffic which induces done to put the cranky machinery of the two bridges into motion. It occasionally sticks, which is why the older bridge is getting maintenance work and 12 hours notice is required to authorize an opening. Don is taking those calls up in the bridge house if you need the bridge opened, mostly on marine radio, channel 9.
Don is currently working through a shelf of obscure Buddhist books and some pre revolutionary Russian comedic literature. He view runs from Ft. Sumter, across James Island to the rooftops of the old city and the medical complex. He keeps a sharp eye downriver past the Marinas and beyond the newer James Island Bridge, to the Atlantic. On the radio, he can hear the work of our area's two other bridge tenders, at Wappoo Cut and on the Ben Sawyer Swing Bridge to Sullivan's Island and the chatter among the pilots and people who make our port work day and night.
This holiday season and every night tens of thousands of people mind our bridges, fire stations, police departments, public words depots and waterworks quietly making sure things work through the night. It's quiet, often lonely work in a busy world. The water coming out of your tap, the power racing through the wires and the plows waiting on the snow are all staffed by people. When your troubles raise you from your bed at night, you can remember that they're up too.
If you are traveling east on the Ashley River Bridges along Highway 17 tonight, look up and tap your horn, flash your lights and let Don know you know he is there. Don will be looking out for you and waiting to open the bridges again. He can't have visitors in the Bridge house, but he doesn't have to be alone. Wish Don a Merry Christmas when you pass over the Ashely River tonight.