fyi _
Attention Boaters
It has been brought to our attention that the Waccamaw River in South Carolina continues to have higher than normal water since Hurricane Florence. The high level Rt. 544 Bridge at AICW Mile 371.1, just beyond the Socastee Swing Bridge, has historically been a problem with vertical clearance following rain events. A local boater advises on January 4, 2019 that “You can also call the Socastee Swing Bridge attendant at 843-347-3525. He will give you a binocular report of the Rt 544 Bridge clearance boards. So far he hasn’t seen it greater than 61 feet for months.” He also advises checking the following: https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=ilm&gage=socs1For most boaters this is not a problem, but if your air draft approaches the 59’ range, he advises that you may want to consider an outside passage to avoid this bridge.
The Waterway Guide has a post about this issue: https://www.waterwayguide.com/nav-alert/4-9223/sc-socastee-sc544-highway-bridge-clearance-caution
This is not an official government publication, and basically relies on crowd sourcing to determine bridge heights, but it may be helpful in determining the vertical clearance at the time you plan to be at this bridge.