1936-2011 Carolina Southern (CALA)/Atlantic Coast Line Bridge over Intracoastal Waterway near Myrtle Beach, SC

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

"Built 1937; Deemed unsafe 1987; Rehabilitated 1987-97; Reopened 2001; Closed 2011 due to a voluntary shutdown of the CSR....Built to carry single rail line on one side with roadway on other. Bridge repainted in last decade, formerly derelict and rusty, condemned by county." [ArchivedBridgeHunter]

This railroad route is owned by Horry County. [MyrtleBeachOnline]

Street View, Nov 2014

This view makes it obvious that it is a rolling bridge because we can see the rack that it rolls on.

Street View, Jan 2019

yahoo
"While the South Carolina Department of Transportation spent 10 years and millions of dollars repairing the bridge for its reopen in 2001, it would ultimately be the decision of Horry County if the bridge would be dismantled. SCDOT no longer has operation of the bridge."

Eric Kerper posted via Dennis DeBruler

Myrtle Beach, SC posted five photos with the comment: 

Ever driven into Myrtle Beach, SC  on 501 and wondered about that big blue steel structure rising over the Intracoastal Waterway?

That’s the Pine Island Bridg .... and before Myrtle Beach was the destination it is today, this quiet old bridge was the very first gateway into the beach.

Built in 1936–1937, the Pine Island Bridge was designed as a combination road and railroad bridge. For decades, if you were coming from Conway, this was the only way into Myrtle Beach. Cars rattled across its steel deck, trains rumbled beside them, and the bridge lifted to let boats pass through the newly built Intracoastal Waterway.

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By the early 1960s, the modern high-span 501 bridge opened, shifting highway traffic away from Pine Island .... but the old bridge kept serving Myrtle Beach in another way. Trains continued crossing it long after cars stopped, carrying freight and later excursion passengers well into the 1980s, 1990s, and even the 2000s after repairs were made to the rail line.

In 1987, the route temporarily shut down due to deteriorated track conditions, but the bridge itself was repaired and trains once again rolled over it in the years that followed. Many locals still remember riding excursions from the Myrtle Beach depot to Conway.

Over time, the machinery that once lifted the bascule span was vandalized, copper wiring stolen, electrical systems damaged , and the bridge eventually became inoperable. With no way to raise or lower the span, rail service ended, and the iconic blue bridge slipped into silence.

Today it stands frozen in place: rusted, weathered, and unmistakably Myrtle Beach. A forgotten guardian over the waterway. A relic from when getting to the beach meant crossing a single bridge in the middle of nowhere… long before millions of people found their way to the Grand Strand.

So next time you drive past it, take a second ....

that old blue bridge once carried Myrtle Beach into its future.

🇺🇸 Follow the hashtag #JakeLeeRealEstate to browse over 26,000 posts of local history, news, photography, and exclusive real estate opportunities across our area.

Sean Hayes: It would take at least a minimum of 10 million dollars to fix everything up to the depot on main street, it was served by the ACL until the late 60s when passenger sales declined and freight dried up in the 70s. The station itself was rebuilt into what it is today.

Randall Hampton shared with the comment: "Former SCL."

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