Beneath your feet, steel plates and a central pivot mark the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge, known locally as the Woods Bridge, linking downtown Beaufort to Lady's Island and the outer Sea Islands. Opened on December 17, 1959, this span replaced an earlier swing bridge built in 1927. Originally named Lady's Island Bridge, it was renamed in 1971 in memory of Richard V. Woods (1935–1969), a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer killed in the line of duty.
The bridge swings on its central pier to open for boat traffic too tall to clear the roadway; an operator's station sits in the center of the span where an attendant can turn the mechanism. Because the Intracoastal Waterway runs beneath you, the bridge must open frequently for passing vessels. You might recognize this very crossing from the film Forrest Gump (1994), where it stood in for a bridge across the Mississippi River as Forrest was interviewed about his cross-country run.
In January 2023 this structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under its original name, Lady's Island Bridge. Feel the span beneath your feet, and let the channel draw your attention toward downtown Beaufort on one side and Lady's Island on the other.