The Bridge Builders and Charleston’s Grand New Span

The Bridge Builders is the history of the monumental effort to build North America’s largest cable-stayed bridge. The setting is Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, scene of famous battles and the beginning of the Civil War. The characters are an eclectic group of managers and laborers from all over the world. With dramatic photos and a fast-paced storyline, The Bridge Builders takes you through all phases of the bridge’s construction, with a special focus on the carpenters, ironworkers and engineers who put their fingerprints on this new landmark. You’ll meet April, the only woman on the towers; Big Dave, the brash superintendent; Lumbee, the Native American ironworker; and the French crews hanging the bridge’s bright white cables. You’ll watch how workers cheat death and overcome personal obstacles to build the bridge a year ahead of schedule. In an economy increasingly dominated by service industries, erecting a great bridge remains a uniquely raw and risky endeavor. The Bridge Builders offers a front row seat to this dangerous industrial ballet.