I only lived in Charleston for one year before they closed those old bridges but that year was epic. Rest in pieces, Grace and Pearlman.

As a child, I remember when this bridge had two-way traffic. By the time I started driving, they had built another bridge with traffic heading in the opposite direction. When I was young, I used to drive over this bridge so nonchalantly, but after looking at this video, I can see just how intimidating this bridge really was.

I lived in Charleston 1964-1968, a Navy brat. My mom hated driving over this but it was the only way to Isle of Palms.

I toured the South 25 years ago and found this the scariest bridge I ever encountered.

Wow. I remember this bridge well. I was in middle school in the late 80s when my grandparents and I went to see family in Beaufort from Johnsonville. I moved 5 years before the demolition. This bridge is why I love bridges today. You knew you were in Charleston when you crossed that bridge.

I've never forgotten that bridge and wish it was still around to take my daughter on it. I was in Charleston in 2003 and commuted daily from Mt Pleasant to Charleston Air Force Base. I'll never forget that bridge and how white-knuckled I was every time I went across it. You didn't get to look out the window at any views. You kept your eyes straight ahead. LOL Thanks for sharing the video. Brings back some great memories of crossing that scary crazy bridge.

It was absolutely nerve-wracking! Even as a little kid riding in the back seat, i was terrified we'd either smash into another car or drive right off the bridge 😬

That bridge was so scary to drive on

I went across this bridge as a teenager back in the late 1970's on the city bus and found it unnerving. 🚌

Wow, so many memories- including stalling out before the peak of the second span. I would have forever forgotten the road just before the bridge if not for this video.

Didn't scare me; I just closed my eyes and kept going!

I remember this bridge in the early 2000s cause I went to kindergarten in Mount pleasant. Even though the bridge was very old and had alot of negatives behind it, im glad I was able to experience it before it was demolished

I was watching one of those "world's scariest bridges" videos and I was like what was that old bridge in Charleston that scared the crap out of me as a kid? And here it is, so thank you!

Not from CHS but spent my summers there from age baby. That is and will forever be “the old Cooper River Bridge,” not to be confused with the new one, which had a reversible lane and has now also been gone for at least a decade.

I lived in Summerville in the early 90’s and was a delivery driver in the Charleston area at that time. I was so afraid of going over this bridge. The white knuckles are a fact!! I’ve been over the new one a time or 2 coming back to visit. That one is quite impressive although a little scary itself!

This bridge was a right of passage the first and only free roller coaster that you controlled....

Now try to imagine when this was the only river crossing and traffic was two-way. Clutching that steering wheel for dear life, bouncing over those old expansion joints while oncoming traffic whizzes past you just inches away. Driving over it at night must have been even more terrifying, blinded by headlights coming at you and in your rearview mirror.

2 years living in Charleston in late 70’s hated this bridge pins and needles especially at night and winter time

Im from Charleston,Ive driven this bridge a few times and believe it or not it actually sways too. The video is good but I must say til your actually doing it you cant know. That old bridge was very narrow. I still have dreams about that old bridge to this day. Glad they demolished it and built something more suitable for the times.

THE ORIGINAL COOPER RIVER BRIDGE BOTTOMED OUT ON THE STREET CALLED LEE STREET - STILL THERE - AND LEE STREET ENDED AT MEETING STREET... IF YOU TURNED LEFT ON MEETING, YOU HEADED INTO THE CITY OF CHARLESTON... IF YOU TURNED RIGHT - YOU HEADED AWAY FROM CHARLESTON... IF YOU CONTINUED STRAIGHT, THE NEXT STREET DOWN WAS WALNUT STREET AND MY MOM AND HER TWO SISTERS AND BROTHER, GREW UP IN A HOUSE ON WALNUT STREET... THAT HOUSE WAS EVENTUALLY REMOVED TO MAKE WAY FOR THE 1-26 ON-RAMP... THE ORIGINAL COOPER RIVER BRIDGE CREATED QUITE A THRILL WHEN CARS STARTED GETTING WIDER AND IT WAS STILL A TWO-WAY BRIDGE AT THAT TIME...lol

I remember living in Charleston in 1977 and I had to take driving lessons and one of my lesson was to cross the cooper river bridge in the car I was in training happens to be a gremlin

very very scary bridge. everyone feared it

Seeing this makes me slightly less afraid to drive over the new one...

The first and only time I drove over that was at night, during a rain storm at the end of a very long day of driving from Maryland via Long Island. Got to a restaurant and handed my wife (girlfriend at the time) the keys and drank a few beers with dinner before she drove us to our motel for the night. Never forget it. White knuckled the whole way across that thing.

When I was in 3rd grade, we lived in Walterboro. We went to the beach at Isle of Palms and had to cross the original bridge to and from. It was terrifying to me. Always dreaded that part of the trip.

I crossed this bridge once, in my uncle's motorhome in the 80s. I was terrified because up high in the RV it looked like we'd go over the side. Then I really started panicking when it sounded like we were hitting the side of the bridge. IIRC they forgot to put the step up and it was scraping against something. I was maybe 10 and the adults got a kick out of my fear and messing with me saying we're going over! I was so relieved once that was over

I drove across the Ravenel Bridge twice during a road trip from Salt Lake City to Myrtle Beach and back. Amazing bridge! Then I moved to Charleston in 2019 and only then did I start hearing stories about the old Cooper River Bridge. The Don Holt Bridge is nutso to drive across, the Ravenel not so much. But now seeing this footage, I can see how crazy it was.

Thanks for the memories. The worst was when someone decided to park at the top and take that once in a lifetime leap. Driving on the bridge is awful. Being stuck on the bridge in traffic for hours is even worse.

If I'm not mistaken my uncle senator Larry Grooms got to set one of the explosive charges off when they demolished that bridge.

A lot of my family always refers to this as the two one terror as it was the original that went both ways

This is the older span when it was made this was the only span here but when they made the other spin on the left in the video they made more lanes and more bigger and less narrow so there’s gonna be traffic on it the order span only has two narrow lanes and it’s very dangerous

LIVED IN MT.PLEASANT,1970-72. Moultre High,trip across one day firkd trip to Museum,bus tapped the guardrail.

I take it this video was recorded in 2005?

I remember going over this bridge with my parents going to the uss yourktown

No pedestrian walkway on old bridge.

Think this bridge is bad imagine this one. It’s not here in Charleston anymore as they built a new one that’s less sketch. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ecCpYKWDv53Xp4U.htmlsi=qMk5C7I-LOn0BnMI

My favorite bridges. I understand they were outdated, but I still loved to go over them.

Any sound?

Always scared me. Glad it's gone

So when's the scary bridge part....oh the video ended....

because their was outdated from safety inspection an there was also a cargo ship that hit it an killed couple of people back in the early 2000's

I remember that because that was the year we had to move back to Greenville Sc from down there witch I really wish I was back down there I miss it there

What brand of potato was this filmed with?

why was this bridge torn down???