3 days ago
There's a blue drawbridge near Myrtle Beach. Why it remains after years of non use
The big blue drawbridge that stretches skyward near busy U.S. 501 has been a welcoming sign for thousands of drivers heading into Myrtle Beach each year.
The bridge has become a nostalgic piece of Myrtle Beach history, as many people recall passing it as they made their way into the coastal city for vacation or trips to the beach.
At one time it was the only way into Myrtle Beach from Conway, crossing over the Intracoastal Waterway.
It has been nonoperational for decades, but there have been no plans to dismantle the massive bridge that has been in the location for more than 80 years.
Horry County, which owns the idled rail line from the Carolina Forest area to the city of Myrtle Beach, and Myrtle Beach officials had discussed a plan in 2021 that would make use of the rail line, including a possible park around the bridge.
However, those plans never moved forward, according to a text from Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov.
Moskov said that the rail line is being maintained 'so that rail access to Myrtle Beach can be utilized in the future as or if needed.'
Known as the Pine Island drawbridge, it spans the Intracoastal Waterway in the community of the same name.
It continued to operate as a railroad drawbridge until 1987 until it was declared unsafe. The bridge was repaired and restored for train use in 2001, but eventually was shut down in 2011.
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, according to Hannah Robinson, media relations manager with the SCDOT.
The rail line is owned by Horry County, but it is leased to R.J. Corman Railroad group.
R.J. Corman purchased the railroad in 2015 from Whiteville to Conway, and leases the track from Conway to the waterway.
Adam Boyles, the director of commercial development for R.J. Corman, was at the 2021 meeting with county and city officials to discuss possible uses for the rail line, including upgrading the rail lines for use by cargo trains.
Another plan pitched would be making a 2.5-mile section of the abandoned railway east of the Intracoastal Waterway a Rails-to-Trails multi-use path for joggers, cyclists and pedestrians, running from downtown Myrtle Beach near the historic train depot to the waterway.
Neither plan advanced.
Boyles said since that initial discussion, there has been no other plans or agreements for using the line. R.J. Corman continues to lease part of the rail line from Horry County, he said.
The Pine Island drawbridge was at one time one of thousands of railroad drawbridges in the country. It is estimated that there are about 1,000 railroad drawbridges still operational in the U.S.
