Carolina TEA performed value engineering for Palmetto Infrastructure for 2 pedestrian bridges in Greenville, SC.  The bridges are part of the Swamp Rabbit Trail and are converting old railroad beds to pedestrian trails. The Haywood Road Bridge includes sidewalk connectors to connect the trail to the existing sidewalk network.

 The project was originally bid over 2 times the City’s budget.  Carolina TEA modified the original design (by others) to eliminate walls, simplify the drainage, utilize standard bridge components and reduce the substructure costs.  The redesigned bridges were 140 ft longer than the original design, but cut nearly half the construction cost. The nearly $5 million reduction allowed the contractor to proceed with construction.

Carolina TEA won an ACEC-SC Engineering Excellence award for this project in 2024.