Buster Boyd Bridge

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name= Buster Boyd Bridge


caption= Photo taken from shore of Lake Wylie, South Carolina looking south towards Steele Creek, North Carolina. Steam release from Catawba Nuclear Power Station seen in background.
official_name=
also_known_as=
carries= Motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles
crosses= Lake Wylie
locale= Between Steele Creek, North Carolina and Lake Wylie, South Carolina
maint= North Carolina Department of Transportation and the South Carolina Department of Transportation
id=
design= Truss bridge
mainspan=
length= 1,418 feet
width= 68 feet
below= unknown
traffic= 30,000
open= June 16, 2001 (third structure)
closed=
toll= Free both ways
map_cue=
map_

map_text=
map_width=
lat= 35.102583
long= -81.040056

The Buster Boyd Bridge is a four-lane automobile bridge spanning Lake Wylie between Steele Creek in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and the town of Lake Wylie in York County, South Carolina.

The route connects North Carolina Highway 49, also known as York Road, to South Carolina Highway 49, also known as Charlotte Highway. 30,000 vehicles travel across the Buster Boyd Bridge every day. [cite news | title = 10 Things To Know About Lake Wylie | page = 3B | publisher = The Charlotte Observer | date = 2005-05-25 | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10A55D16D22EBC21&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | accessdate = 2007-08-13 ]

History

Buster Boyd Bridge I

William Monroe "Buster" Boyd, was an influential Mecklenburg County politician from Steele Creek. Boyd lobbied Mecklenburg County Commissioners for a hard-surfaced road to be built from Charlotte to what was then known as Lake Catawba. After the road was built, Boyd fought heavily for the construction of a bridge that would span Lake Catawba, connecting Mecklenburg County with York County on the South Carolina side. The bridge was named in honor of Boyd, who donated the access land on the North Carolina side.cite web | title = History of River Hills Area | url = http://www.riverhillsplantation.com/History-of-River-Hills-Area~5320~291.htm | accessdate = 2007-08-13 ]

The original Buster Boyd Bridge was built at a cost of $120,000, with Mecklenburg County paying two-thirds of the cost and York County, South Carolina paying the remaining one-third. The bridge spanned 1,378 feet across in 10 spans. It officially opened to automobile traffic on January 9, 1923. The bridge featured an excessively high lake clearance due to known plans by Catawba Power Company to build a larger dam, which would make Lake Catawba much larger and deeper in the following year.cite press release
title = Wylie Hydroelectric Station Celebrates 75 Years Of Service: A Little History Gets A Chance To Shine | publisher = Duke Power | date = 2000-08-09 | url = http://www.duke-energy.com/newsarchives/2000/Aug/2000080901.html | accessdate = 2007-08-13 ]

were among the estimated crowd of 12,000 attending the event. Ceremonies commenced with several acrobatic biplanes flying aerial maneuvers beneath the center span of the bridge.

In 1960 the name of the body of water over which the Buster Boyd Bridge spans was changed from Lake Catawba to Lake Wylie in honor of Dr. Walker Gill Wylie, one of the founders of what was to become Duke Power Company.

Just one month before a new bridge was to replace the original bridge, it was closed to traffic in September of 1961 after a truck struck it, causing serious structural damage.

Buster Boyd Bridge II

The second Buster Boyd Bridge opened in October of 1961 at a cost of $700,000. The structure was demolished in July of 2001, two weeks after the third bridge first began carrying traffic.cite news | last = Huntley | first = Dan | title = Piece By Piece, Old Bridge Comes Down For A New One | page = 2B | publisher = The Charlotte Observer | date = 2001-07-18 | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED5A1EB248E0874&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | accessdate = 2007-08-13 ]

Buster Boyd Bridge III

Construction on the third and current Buster Boyd Bridge began in April of 1999, as a joint-partnership between the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the South Carolina Department of Transportation. [Citation | first = Lyndo | last = Tippett | title = Secretary Tippett's Remarks, Charlotte Chamber BCRTS Lunch | publisher = North Carolina Department of Transportation | date = 2003-07-15 | location = Charlotte, North Carolina | url = http://www.ncdot.org/public/speeches/BCRTSlunch07_03.html | accessdate = 2007-08-13 ] The new bridge first opened to automobile traffic with only two lanes on June 16, 2001, with all four-lanes finally being officially completed on September 16, 2003 [cite news | last = Huntley | first = Dan| title = Lake Wylie Bridge Complete | page = 1B | publisher = The Charlotte Observer | date = 2003-09-17 | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FDA55932450A996&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | accessdate = 2007-08-13 ] (two years behind schedule). The final cost of the bridge was over $12 million.

In addition to replacing the 40-year-old 2nd Buster Boyd Bridge and finally expanding automobile traffic to four lanes, the newest Buster Boyd Bridge also provides a lake clearance five feet higher than before to allow for more boat traffic beneath the center span. The current structure also provides a separated pedestrian walkway on each side for the first time.

Trivia

The Buster Boyd Bridge is the only bridge in which North Carolina is on the "southern" end and South Carolina is on the "northern" end.

References