Three Bridges in York and Lancaster Counties closed Wednesday night as a precaution have been reopened

              Engineers at the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) have reopened two bridges in York County and one bridge in Lancaster County that were closed on Wednesday August 27, 2008.

              This action was taken as a precaution due to the heavy flooding in the central upstate area. Bridge engineers were concerned that these structures may have suffered some damage, but thorough inspections could not be conducted until the flood waters receded. Following inspections made Thursday morning, all three bridges were reopened.  SCDOT has deployed three bridge inspection teams from other parts of the state to assist in evaluating and monitoring any bridge that may be in jeopardy due to flooding. The three bridges that were reopened are:

• Bridge that crosses Fishing Creek on state route 163 in York County.
• Bridge that crosses Stony Fork Creek on state route 739 in York County.
• Bridge that crosses Clems Branch Creek on state route 42 in Lancaster County. 

               SCDOT engineers are also closely monitoring two other bridges in the same area. However these bridges remain open at this time. Those bridges are:

• Bridge on state route 655 that crosses Fishing Creek in York County about six miles south of Rock Hill. Daily traffic on this bridge averages 150 vehicles.
• Bridge on state route 55 in Lancaster County that crosses Twelve Mile Creek in the town of Van Wyck. Daily traffic on this bridge averages 1200 vehicles.

               SCDOT engineers closed two bridges in the central upstate area early on Wednesday August 27. These bridges were closed due to large amounts of debris that were swept into the bridge piers by flood waters and caused damage.

• Bridge on state route 209 in Cherokee County that crosses Kings Creek nearly six miles southeast of Blacksburg. Daily traffic averages 250 vehicles per day.
• Bridge on state route 59 in York County crossing Turkey Creek nearly five miles south of the town of Sharon. Daily traffic averages 450 vehicles per day.

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