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Sunset Beach Bridge

Brunswick County, North Carolina

Photos 

Photo taken by Matthew Ridpath

Enlarge

BH Photo #132995

Map 

Facts 

Overview
Pontoon Floating bridge over Intracoastal Waterway on NC 1172 in Sunset Beach
Location
Brunswick County, North Carolina
Status
Replaced by a new bridge
History
Built 1961
Design
"Swing": moving segment is a floating pontoon which swings to one side to open. Reputedly the only example remaining in the U.S. Being replaced by a generic high-level bridge.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 35.1 ft.
Total length: 507.9 ft.
Deck width: 13.8 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+33.88206, -78.51097   (decimal degrees)
33°52'55" N, 78°30'40" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/730200/3751868 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Calabash
Average daily traffic (as of 2015)
4,400
Inventory numbers
NC 190198 (North Carolina bridge number)
BH 23224 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of December 2018)
Overall condition: Good
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 73 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Brunswick County, North Carolina (11)
Built 1961 (224)
Built during 1960s (2,032)
Floating (36)
Intracoastal Waterway (134)
Lost (24,738)
Lost 2012 (382)
Lost during 2010s (3,284)
Navigable waterway (2,152)
 North Carolina (965)
One-lane traffic (7,606)
Owned by state (15,986)
Pontoon (37)
Replaced by UCEB (74)
Replaced by new bridge (16,581)
Span length 25-50 feet (15,668)
Total length 500-1000 feet (2,871)

Update Log 

  • April 9, 2020: Updated by Nick Boppel: Fix name
  • February 1, 2018: New photo from Andrew Penik
  • February 4, 2009: New photos from Matthew Ridpath

Sources 

  • Matthew Ridpath
  • Robert Thompson
  • Nick Boppel - nickboppel01 [at] gmail [dot] com
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Comments 

Intracoastal Waterway Bridge, Bridge at Sunset Beach,NC
Posted July 17, 2011, by Carolyn Hirst-Loucks (hirstloucks [at] gmail [dot] com)

The Bridge at Sunset Beach was decommissioned by NCDOT on January 6, 2011. This bridge was a pontoon bridge, not a swing bridge. The 1984 bridge rested on eight metal barges. The first bridge over the Intercoastal Waterway from the mainland to the island of Sunset Beach was built in May 1958 by the developer Mannon C. Gore. Once more houses were built on the island, bridge inspections, repairs and general upkeep were taken over by NCDOT. They replaced the pontoon bridge in 1961 and then again in 1984. The Sunset Beach Bridge has now been moved to a site close by and is being restored by a nonprofit organization, The Old Bridge Preservation Society. The plan is to create an interpretive park for the area with the Old Bridge at Sunset as the focal point.

More information and video clips of the bridge being moved to the new site can be found at

http://www.oldbridgepreservationsociety.org/Site/Welcome.htm...