Mt. Pleasant, S.C. (WCIV) — It an effort to alleviate traffic from the closing of the Wando Bridge, the SCDOT is opening one Eastbound lane to contraflow.
The lane was still being tested around 2:45 p.m. Sunday. It was a slight delay from the expected 2 p.m. opening time.
As of 3 p.m. the lane was officially open.
Official law enforcement vehicles did a "test run" on the lane before opening it up to the public.
The department will perform nighttime inspection of the detour at 10 p.m.
Eastbound traffic coming from the direction of North Charleston will be tapered to one lane after passing Exit 24 (Seven Farms Drive) on Daniel Island to allow for the changeover.
Vehicles traveling westbound from Mount Pleasant will be able to stay on I-526 west up until a few hundred feet before the foot of the Wando bridge. There, westbound traffic will merge down to one lane, and cross over to the one eastbound lane that is being reversed.
The speed limit on the one-lane is 45 miles per hour.
South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers are in place along that portion of the interstate to help with the two-way traffic.
Crews are working around the clock to repair the bridge after a cable snapped on May 14. The westbound lanes were closed all week, which meant drivers getting from Mt. Pleasant to North Charleston had to take alternative routes. The targeted opening date of the Wando bridge is June 11.
On Saturday, SCDOT posted on Twitter that 2,000 feet of conduit for the new cable arrived on the bridge.