MARINER TRAFFIC NOTICE

							                         MARINER TRAFFIC NOTICE

                 Boat Traffic Closure - Intracoastal Waterway

     Ben Sawyer Bridge, Sullivan’s Island (November 13 – 23, 2009)

NOTICE:

Commander United States Coast Guard Sector Charleston
196 Tradd Street, Charleston, SC 29401-1800
Phone: (843) 724-7600         Fax: (843) 724-7608

MSIB (63-09) –AICW 10-Day Closure 13-23 November 2009; Ben Sawyer Bridge, SC
Issued: October 9, 2009 1200
Expires: November 24, 2009 0600

Due to the scheduled replacement of the swing span of the Ben Sawyer Bridge, the
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) will be closed to marine traffic from Friday,
November 13, 2009 at 12:00 A.M. to Monday, November 23, 2009 at 11:59 P.M.
A safety zone will be enforced around the Ben Sawyer Bridge during the entire 10 day
closure. The safety zone will encompass the entire waterway from 180 yards northwest of
the bridge, and 220 yards southwest of the bridge. No one may enter the safety zone
without prior authorization from the Captain of the Port Charleston or his designated
representative.
Mariners are encouraged to listen to the broadcast notice to mariners for updates on VHF
Ch 16. CG Sector Charleston will broadcast the closure, as well as the implementation
and rescission of the corresponding safety zone for the bridge. Updates to the schedule
are dependent on weather and will be made to this MSIB, as necessary. For questions
regarding the bridge construction call Julie Hussey with PCL at (843) 224-1096 or Kim
Partenheimer with PB Americas at (843) 972-1775. For Coast Guard issues, please
contact the Coast Guard’s 24 hour Command Center Line at (843) 740-7050.
/S/
C. K. MARCY
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard
-------------------------------------------

NOTICE:

“We recognize there is great interest in the exact start time for the 168 hour closure of the
roadway and waterway surrounding the Ben Sawyer Bridge necessary to rehabilitate the
existing bridge.

Because of the need to make the most of every second during this short closure time, the
exact dates and time will not be known until the very last moment. While we cannot
provide an exact time, we can begin to narrow the window of potential times during
which the closure is likely to occur.
The closure window was initially set by the Design/Build Contract between the South
Carolina Department of Transportation and PCL Civil Constructors to occur sometime
between October 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010, but not between December 15th and
January 1st. At the end of September 2009, the window was narrowed to occur sometime
between November 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010 but not between December 15th and
January 1st.

To make certain mariners with travel plans along the Intracoastal Waterway have enough
notice to put their plans into place, the United States Coast Guard has asked that a
potential closure time for the waterway be given out at least thirty days in advance. On
October 9, 2009, the Ben Sawyer Bridge Project Team informed the US Coast Guard the
earliest start time for the waterway closure at the bridge could be Friday, November 13,
2009 at 12 AM. A notice to mariners was distributed to mariners (see below) with the
understanding the exact dates of the implementation and rescission of the corresponding
safety zone for the bridge would be provided by the US Coast Guard Sector Charleston
with updates to the schedule dependent upon weather.

For those wanting exact dates of the closure, this mariners notice gives a tight window.
However, please be aware, this mariners notice is for planning purposes only and the
potential closure window for the waterway and the roadway at the Ben Sawyer Bridge is
between November 13, 2009 and January 31, 2010. The contractor is working diligently
to schedule the closure and re-opening of the Ben Sawyer Bridge as soon as possible.
However, the closure will not begin until everything is ready to go. Before the closure
begins, the construction team has to complete necessary construction milestones on the
bridge approaches and swing span, put the proper equipment and materials into place,
and be able to coordinate with weather and tides during the 168 hours scheduled for the
roadway closure.

Once the waterway closure has begun, the contractor expects to begin the necessary
closure of the roadway for the rehabilitation of the Ben Sawyer Bridge roughly three days
after the closure of the waterway.”

Kim Partenheimer
Resident Project Engineer, PB Americas
SCDOT Ben Sawyer Bridge Rehabilitation Team
Chief, Prevention Department

                       Released by Civic Communications, Inc.
                                Post Office Box 871
                              Charleston, SC 29402
                                   (843)224-1096
                         www.CivicCommunications.com