By Laura Lance

This three-part series places Aiken’s railroad cut and wooden bridges in historic context — the development and building of the Charleston-Hamburg line; issues of deterioration and upkeep; the human stories; the environmental elements; the costs.

Part Three of Three: 
The Bridges

In 1897, the SC Legislature passed a bill requiring the South Carolina & Georgia Railroad Company to erect and repair certain bridges over Aiken’s railroad cut, and to open up and grade crossings at other streets over the railroad, and to maintain the same.

The situation was urgent. According to one account in March 1897, the bridge on Newberry Street was “getting to be dangerous.” The Laurens Street bridge had recently received emergency repair by a policeman, who had to replace a plank in the bridge “to prevent further accident, one horse having fallen into the hole before it was discovered.” The other bridges [Union and York] were said to be “in bad repair.”²³

In late 1897, the City and the railroad company came to an agreement whereby the railroad would, among other things, rebuild the bridges at Laurens, Newberry and York within two years. The timeline on the fulfillment of this agreement is stubborn to find in local accounts, however, the Aiken Journal and Review made a brief mention on January 10, 1911 that the bridge being built over the railroad cut at Laurens Street was nearing completion.

The Bridges

Postcard: Southern Railroad cut at Aiken, SC. 1908. Souvenir Post Card Co. In the public domain.

The Laurens Street Bridge
Erected circa 1852-1855

City Council records from throughout the 1960s show the mayor, city manager, and even the First Presbyterian Church pleading with the railroad company to address the poor visibility of the hump-backed bridge, the drooping railing, the axle-jarring holes and the ongoing rot. In those days, the First Presbyterian Church congregation used the Laurens Street bridge as a pedestrian crossing to travel from the church at the corner of Park and Laurens to the Sunday school at the Grace Estate located on the other side of the bridge.

When letters and calls failed to move the railroad, the City and church began sending letters directly to the president of the company. The church sent a second letter in 1966 to express “grave concern at the generally deteriorating condition of the Laurens Street bridge.”²¹

When the bridge was finally resurfaced in 1966, a brief in the local newspaper hailed the improvement as “ probably one of the most appreciated things that has been done in Aiken in the past three centuries.”²⁴

The bridge was closed in 1971 after being declared by the Aiken Director of Public Safety to be “in unsafe condition due to erosion and a lack of maintenance.”³ The condition of the railroad cut, after nearly 10 years of abandonment by the railroad company, had left erosion to undermine the tracks and the bridge’s concrete foundation, which the Public Safety Director described as “cracked and undercut.”³

In 1974, a perfect storm of deferred and unresolved issues led to the collapse of the bridge. When the bridge collapsed again in 2012, erosion was cited as the cause after a heavy rain eroded away the soil under the bridge supports.²⁵ 

The Laurens Street bridge as seen from the Newberry Street bridge. Photographer: carlfbagge. Flickr album: Aiken, 2008.

Both of the bridge collapses were unexpected. Either could have resulted in loss of life. Fortunately, the bridge was closed during both collapses. During the 1974 collapse, the bridge was closed for repairs, with the workers actually under the bridge when the collapse began. During the 2012 collapse, the bridge had been closed due to an observant passerby who noticed a shift in the bridge’s elevation and alerted public safety. 

In the months leading up to the 1970s bridge replacement, some of the Laurens Street residents living near the bridge lobbied to either keep the bridge permanently closed or make it a pedestrian-only bridge, as they’d come to appreciate the peace and quiet.

Two factors drove the design of the 2012 bridge replacement. One was the new 23-foot clearance requirement by the railroad company, which increased the bridge height by three feet and necessitated major disruption of the roadway approach and closure of Colleton Street on the southside of the bridge. The other factor, as described in April 2012 City Council meeting minutes, was the federal emergency funding secured for the bridge by the governor’s executive order, the terms of which gave the City 180 days to complete the project.

The bridge fell in April 2012, was demolished in June, and its replacement completed in October just slightly past the 180-day deadline.

June 2025 views of the 2012 Laurens Street bridge replacement, which drew heavy criticism after its completion in October 2012. The City made efforts to improve the appearance with landscaping and by painting the chain link fence black. Click photos for larger view. Photographs by Michael Aiken.

Aesthetics and historic design considerations had not part of the process. The end result drew major criticism and compelled City Council to place the remaining three wooden bridges at York, Fairfield and Union Street on the historic register and to give the Design Review Board jurisdiction over the design of future bridges with a Certificate of Appropriateness required.

The Newberry Street Bridge
Erected circa 1852-1855

An 1893 newspaper account described the “dangerous” condition of the Newberry Street bridge. One hundred years later, in 1993, City Council members were discussing the “continuing deterioration” of the Newberry Street bridge and calling for its replacement. 

Also in 1993, the SCDOT backed out of an earlier commitment to help fund the rehabilitation of the Newberry Street and York Street bridges. This, even as the substandard condition of the railroad bridges was said to be compromising the response times of emergency vehicles. According to the City Manager at that time, “In the event of a fire, the city has to cross either the Laurens Street or Chesterfield Street bridges and then backtrack to the fire.”²⁶

In 1994, a Newberry Street bridge inspection found no signs of erosion. In 1995, inspectors found the soil around the foundation caving in from erosion, which compelled the immediate closure and replacement of the bridge. This incident illustrated the speed with which critical damages can be inflicted to the foundation from the effects of rain in just one year’s time. 

Stories of flooding, landslides, cave-ins, and erosion, with attendant damage to tracks and bridges, have always existed in the railroad cut. Modern-day attention to stormwater runoff has abated, but not eliminated, the effects of weather on the landscape in the railroad cut.

In January 1997, City Council considered and approved the design for the Newberry Street bridge replacement. Included in the discussion were requests from Newberry Street residents to close this bridge off to vehicular traffic and make it pedestrian-only, as the bridge closure had made their neighborhood quieter and more close-knit. 

Newberry Street bridge railing. Photographer carlfbagge. Flickr album: Aiken, 2008.

Council voted to approve funding for the vehicular bridge. The SCDOT agreed to cover 80% of the cost, with the City and railroad company each paying 10%. The City paid an additional $29k above cost to fund a Historic Commission-approved bridge railing designed to be in keeping with the 1937-era railing on the nearby Chesterfield Street bridge. This brought the total shares for the railroad company and city to, respectively, $115k and $144k. 

During negotiations, the railroad company offered to pay the city’s share if the City would agree to take on the future responsibility for maintenance, repair and replacement of the rest of the railroad bridges. The City declined. 

The Chesterfield Street Bridge
Erected circa 1894-1897

Chesterfield Street bridge in 2008. The Newberry and Laurens Street bridges are visible beyond. Photographer: carlfbagge. Flickr album: Aiken, 2008.

A May 20, 1885 Aiken Journal and Review brief mentioned that a petition had been drawn up by Aiken citizens to have a bridge built over the railroad cut on Chesterfield just below the jail. Twelve years later, in December 1897, an agreement was reached between the City of Aiken and the South Carolina & Georgia Railroad for the railroad company to erect a bridge at Fairfield Street within 6 months and to rebuild the bridges at Laurens, Newberry and York within two years. The stipulation was that all these bridges be built in the same style as the “new”²³ wooden bridge at Chesterfield Street. These newspaper accounts offer solid clues on when these bridges were built. 

The Chesterfiield Street bridge as viewed from the southbound lane of the York Street bridge. 2010. Photographer carlfbagge. Flickr album: Aiken, 2010.

The Chesterfield Street bridge was, of course, replaced in 1937 by the federal government, presumably as part of FDR’s 1930s New Deal infrastructure projects. The total cost for the 105-ft reinforced concrete bridge was $16,618. At 88 years of age today, the Chesterfield Street bridge could be Aiken’s oldest railroad bridge. Who knows? 

Views of the Chesterfield Street railing. June 2025. Photographs by Michael Aiken.

The York Street Bridge
Erected circa 1852-1855

Over the past 100 years, the York Street bridge(s) have reportedly been replaced four times — in 1933, 1952, 1993 and 2017. 

The newly-built northbound lane of the York Street prior to opening in 2017.
Photograph by Michael Aiken.

Before 1952, there was only one bridge at York. In 1952, a second bridge was added in the northbound lane. At that time, Aiken’s northside was experiencing major growth with the influx of population from the Savannah River Plant. 

In March 1993, Norfolk Southern began work tearing down and replacing the northbound lane of York Street. The construction took longer than expected due to a delay in the arrival of 39 specialty timbers needed to finish the job.²⁷ The delay provoked a barrage of complaints and prompted SC House Representative Irene Rudnick to draft legislation requiring any bridge under 150 feet to have work completed within 60 days or face a $1000 per day fine.²⁸ The railroad finished the northbound lane in October, followed by the southbound lane in December 1993.

The York Street bridge, northbound lane, as viewed from the Fairfield Street bridge in 2008. Photographer carlfbagge. Flickr album: Aiken, 2008.

Less than 25 years later, in 2016, the York Street bridges were closed by the SCDOT, their condition described as “dilapidated” and “in need of total replacement.”²⁹ Because the bridges had been designated Historic Landmark status on the Aiken Historic Register in 2013, the design of the new 2017 bridge was drawn in collaboration with local historical preservationists, community input, local leaders, and the SCDOT. The idea was to preserve the historic, wooden-bridge aesthetic in a design with longer-term structural integrity.

ABOVE: More views of the newly-constructed York Street bridge replacement in 2017, taken in the days before official opening. Photographs by Michael Aiken.

The Fairfield Street Bridge
Erected in 1899

In December 1885, the Aiken Town Council instructed the Intendant (a precursor to the office of Mayor) to contact South Carolina Railway and request them to erect bridges “over their excavation where it crosses the streets of Fairfield and Chesterfield.”³⁰ And to put teeth into the request, Council threatened legal action. 

ABOVE: The Fairfield Street bridge as it looked from the Colleton side looking toward Park Avenue in 2023, seven years into closure. Photograph by Laura Lance.

This was, perhaps, a reflection of the mood of a town through which a deep ravine had been dug some 30 years earlier, dividing the town in two; a severed town growing impatient with the railroad company’s unfulfilled commitment to reconnect the two sides of town with bridges.

The Aiken Town Council’s 1885 request for a bridge at Fairfield was followed eight months later by the Charleston earthquake, whose damages drove the railroad company back into receivership. The Fairfield Street bridge was finally built in 1899. 

Disclaimer: There are no standardized definitions in newspaper accounts to differentiate between terms such as built, rebuilt, replaced, repaired and rehabilitated. No attempt is made here to define or draw distinctions between these terms. Also, records regarding any replacements or major rehabilitation of the Fairfield Street bridge after its original 1899 construction are sparse and contradictory. Railroad company records could provide specifics, but are not integral to the purpose of this article.

Norfolk Southern spokespersons, quoted in various local media, have stated that the Fairfield Street bridge was “replaced” in 1952. According to a 2016 SCDOT bridge inspection report, the existing bridge was “built” in 1992. Yet, on January 12, 1998, the bridge made the AAA Carolina list of structurally deficient bridges. The bridge was closed for three days in February 1999 while the SCDOT did preventative maintenance on the timbers. “A single timber piling was added to the bridge to provide extra support next to a timber, which was rotting.”³¹

In 2016, the bridge was closed in the wake of an SCDOT structural inspection report that rated the conditions of its deck and superstructure as poor and rated the substructure, or foundation, as failed. A later inspection in 2020 by the engineering firm, Davis and Floyd found worsening in the bridge condition since the 2016 SCDOT report.

In late 2019, the SCDOT agreed to pay $1.3 million of the cost (then estimated at $2.1 to $3.1 million total) to replace the Fairfield Street Bridge. In 2020, during a City Council work session (see screenshots below), council members heard a presentation by Mr. Todd Warren, representative of the Columbia, SC engineering firm, Davis and Floyd. Three options for bridge replacement were reviewed.

Screenshots from minutes of September 14, 2020 City Council work session discussion on the Fairfield Street bridge to include a recap of the inspection reports and the three options for bridge replacement. Click for full-size view.

In 2020, the City lacked a clear path to funding its share of the bridge replacement. In 2024, the City was able to fund up to $3 million, the funding primarily sourced from Aiken’s share of the $600 million plutonium settlement awarded to the state in 2020. Under the agreement with SCDOT, the City is to assume ownership of this bridge in perpetuity.

In the absence of future nuclear industry windfalls, the funding for future bridge replacements may be stubborn to materialize.

The replacement cost for the Fairfield Street bridge was estimated at $184k in 1991. In 1993, the estimate rose to $450k. In 2013, the estimate was as high as $700k. In 2020, estimates were given for three different bridge options, ranging from $2.1 to $3.2 million. In 2025, those three estimates now range from $3.8 to $5.8 million, with the lower-priced option buying a bridge with higher repair costs that will also need to be replaced every 30 years.

Of course, the three options were for a vehicular bridge. To date, there have been no options offered for a pedestrian bridge. Given the large public support for a pedestrian bridge, as voiced in the May 6, 2025 Design Review Board City meeting, the pedestrian options should be on the table during the next round of discussions.

ABOVE: More views of the Fairfield Street bridge. May 2025. Photos by Michael Aiken.

The Union Street Bridge
Erected circa 1855-1861

An exchange of communications between the AikenTown Council and the attorneys for the railroad, published in the Aiken Journal and Review in 1885, indicated that there were several bridges built over the length of Aiken’s railroad cut by 1855, but a Union Street bridge was not one of them.³² In 1876, however, bids were being taken by Aiken County Commissioners for repairs or rebuilding of the Union Street Bridge.³³ Considering these breadcrumbs of fact and the history, it is all but certain that the first Union Street bridge was built before the Civil War. 

The Union Street bridge viewed from the Fairfield Street bridge in 2009.. Photographer: carlfbagge. Flickr album: Aiken, 2009.

The Union and Fairfield Street bridges are the last two of the older-style wooden bridges that once spanned all six crossings. The railroad cut is shallowest at Union Street, which has compelled the shape of the bridge and its attending moniker, “high bridge,” for much of its existence. The bridge’s awkward configuration has been a factor in numerous accidents, mishaps, mysteries and tragedies over the years, not to mention the ongoing saga to maintain this perpetually crumbling structure. 

Certain allowances have always been made for the Union Street bridge, with a loyal following of admirers pushing back against talk of changing the bridge. It’s that higgledy-piggledy charm; it’s the fact that this is the last of the hump-backed bridges; it’s a fondness for the earlier era of steam engines, when all of Aiken’s railroad bridges had a similar vaulted shape, although none so high as the Union Street bridge. Even as its steep, gabled pitch was a necessity, the design has been the source of longstanding concern, as drivers were unable to see over their hoods while traversing the bridge, and were blind to pedestrians who might be crossing on the other side.

Union Street bridge deck in 2008. Photographer: carlfbagge. Flickr album: Aiken, 2008.

A November 1974 Aiken Standard story began with the question, “The Union Street bridge: Is it picturesque or just dangerous?” From there, the article described in words and photos a scene of “neglect” with trash littering the railroad cut below and, above, daylight peeking through a deteriorated bridge whose thick asphalt had eroded to reveal weathered and rotting planks; a bridge with “chunks of pavement the size of baseballs” scattered in its potholes; a bridge whose railing had been leaning “dangerously over the edge, pulling out its own nails.”³⁴

Aiken Public Safety had reported the bridge’s “precarious condition” to the railroad company three months earlier, in August 1974, and the railroad company responded by sending its bridge supervisor to inspect the bridge.³⁵ This was followed by a re-nailing of the bridge railing and by propping a wooden plank “between the bridge and a handy tree” to support the sagging rail. ³⁴

As the article noted, the railroad company was bound by a 1898 agreement to maintain the bridge. The problem, (as would later be pointed out by City Attorney James Holley during City Council discussion in 1990 over the deteriorating conditions of the Newberry, York and Fairfield Street bridges) was that, while the 1898 agreement stipulated the railroad company would maintain the bridges, it did not specify the standards for that maintenance. 

A similar lack of specificity may have played a role in the railroad company’s failure throughout most of the 19th century to honor its early 1850s agreement to build and maintain the bridges across the railroad cut in exchange for permission from the Town Council to dig that red gash through the center of town. 

The 1974 condition of the Union Street bridge appeared to be a matter of history repeating itself. The City’s hands were already full that year with ongoing litigation with the railroad company and contractors over the collapse of the Laurens Street bridge earlier that year, so the issues of the Union Street bridge went unchallenged. Thebridge has been closed numerous times since the 1970s for repairs and rehabilitation of the decking.

In January 2023, the bridge was closed by the SDDOT due to “unspecified structural problems.” Replacement with a vehicular bridge is no longer being considered due to the degree of disruption this would create to the roadways, parkways, and neighborhoods on either side of the bridge. There is popular support for a pedestrian bridge. The feasibility and cost of this option have yet to be studied. 

ABOVE: The Union Street bridge in April 2023, three months after its closure in January 2023. Photographs by Laura Lance

ABOVE: More views of the closed Union Street bridge. June 2025.
Photos by Michael Aiken.

Looking Forward

Today, the 136-mile railroad from Charleston to Hamburg no longer exists. The current line runs from Charleston to Branchville, about 60 miles east of Aiken. It picks up again near the Oakwood community on the other side of Montmorenci. The railroad between Branchville and Oakwood was abandoned in the 1980s, and most of the tracks were removed by the 1990s. The surviving 13-mile track from Oakwood to Warrenville is currently leased by Aiken Railway, a short line railroad company whose freight includes kaolin, glass fiber products, and feed and seed. 

The physical presence of the historic Charleston to Hamburg line has all but vanished from the Aiken area over the past century. First went the steam engine, then the loss of passenger service in 1950, then the demolition of Aiken’s passenger station in 1954, then the incremental loss of freight service, the abandonment of the line, the tearing up of the tracks, the loss of the old wooden bridges, and the elemental disappearance of the very earth of the railroad cut — gone with the wind, along with a history that apparently cannot be told in polite company. 

What remains to Aiken is a working, 13-mile short-line railroad; two severely deteriorated wooden bridges; and a railroad cut whose ongoing erosion carries the potential to undermine the bridges and adjacent properties.

ABOVE: View of the Aiken tracks from near the intersection of Charleston Street and Park Avenue. June 2025. Photo by Michael Aiken.

Aiken is not the only town in the state to inherit a vanished railroad. Currently, 350 miles of South Carolina’s abandoned railroad beds have been transformed into parts of the Palmetto Trail, a network for pedestrian and bicycle travel, with an additional 150 miles planned. Repurposing old railroad beds for pedestrian trails seems a worthy form of preservation. The same can be said for the old wooden bridges.

During the May 6 Design Review Board meeting on the Fairfield Street bridge, a large number of people came to speak, with the majority in favor of making this a pedestrian-only bridge. As one speaker pointed out, the Fairfield bridge is part of the historic Colleton and South Boundary corridor — an area heavily traveled by people who come from all over town to walk, run, push strollers, bicycle, and walk their dogs. A pedestrian bridge in the most pedestrian-friendly neighborhood in town makes good sense. 

In a city increasingly estranged from itself by overdevelopment, we should be creating more of these places — more tree-lined streets where people might want to walk; more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods; more bicycle-friendly routes and sidewalks for people to travel from one place to another.

Restoring Aiken’s last two wooden bridges to their original 19th-century uses, before the age of the automobile, seems a worthy form of preservation. Can this be accomplished without demolishing the bridges outright? Good question. This and all options for pedestrian bridges should be on the table for consideration. Drawing lessons from history, we always have the option to learn from our mistakes.

______________________

For Reference

23. Editors, Journal and Review. “The Railroad Bridge Bill.” Aiken Journal and Review. December 15, 1897.
24. Wilder, Mary. “Resurfacing of Laurens Street Bridge Immeasurable Relief to Motorized Population.” Aiken Standards and Review. July 12, 1966 
25. Banton, Amy. “Laurens Street Bridge Continues to Collapse.” Aiken Standard, April 5, 2012. Bridge closed when passing motorist noticed the southwestern part of the bridge had sunk 16 inches.
26. Lord, Philip. “DOT Backing Off on Aiken Bridges.” Aiken Standard. August 11, 1993. 
27. Lord, Philip, “Timbers ‘Holding Up’ Bridge Repairs.” Aiken Standard. July 12, 1993. 
28. Lord, Philip. “Bridge Work Delayed Again.” Aiken Standard. August 26, ne1993. 
29. Editorial. “Aiken Needs to Fix its Wooden Bridges.” Aiken Standard. February 23, 2016. 
30. Aiken Journal and Review. Page 3. December 23, 1885. 
31. “Aiken Bridge Reopened.” Aiken Standard. February 20, 1999. 
32. “Bridges Over the Railroad Cut.” Aiken Journal and Review. May 22, 1885.
33. Public notice in Aiken Journal and Review. February 12, 1876.
34. Wendel, Debby. ”Picturesque Bridge Still Needs Repairs.” Aiken Standard and Review. November 29, 1974.
35. Wendel, Debby. ”Southern Railroad Bridge Precarious.” Aiken Standard and Review. August 17, 1974.