A new 450-ft. pedestrian bridge is set to connect Riverfront Park to Boyd Island in Columbia, S.C., providing access to the park's hidden gems. The project is part of the Three Rivers Greenway, connecting trail systems from the Columbia Canal to Lake Murray Dam. Construction expected to begin soon.
Rendering courtesy of the Boyd Foundation
Construction on the new bridge could begin before the end of this year. The work is expected to take up to 18 months to complete.
On one side of the Broad River is Columbia, S.C.'s bustling Riverfront Park — a sprawling green space complete with running trails, hammock stands and scenic views tucked into the shadow of the Columbia Canal.
On the other side of the river is the Saluda Riverwalk and a path to Boyd Island, a natural oasis in the center of the confluence of the capital city's trio of rivers.
Soon, a 450-ft. bridge will cross the Broad River to connect the attractions, tying together a trail network years in the making and creating another avenue for people to get to one of the mid-state's hidden gems.
"A lot of people in our personal circle don't know where Boyd Island is or how to get to it," said George Bailey, president of Columbia's Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation, in speaking with the Mrytle Beach Sun News. The foundation is footing the bill for the pedestrian bridge.
The 7-acre Boyd Island park officially opened in 2023 after more than a decade of work by the River Alliance, the Boyd Foundation and the city of Columbia, which owned the uninhabited and largely unused island.
Bailey explained, though, that the island has remained a hidden gem. He hopes that the new bridge will help lead more people to discover the park, which is uniquely situated where Columbia's three rivers — the Saluda, the Broad and the Congaree — come together just west of downtown.
Currently, it is only accessible from the first phase of the Saluda Riverwalk, which people can access from Candi Lane.
Pedestrian Bridge to Be Part of Three Rivers Greenway
The Sun News reported Aug. 19 that a bridge across the Broad River had pretty much always been part of the River Alliance's plans, the group responsible for the Midlands' Three Rivers Greenway.
While the pedestrian bridge was still in its planning stages, Phase I of the Saluda Riverwalk, which included the Sanctuary at Boyd Island — a Boyd Foundation endeavor — was completed in 2021.
The second phase of the riverwalk was designed to lead park visitors up the Broad Riverwalk and include the pedestrian bridge across that waterway, effectively connecting both trails with the Columbia Canal Riverwalk.
According to the Boyd Foundation, however, by the time Phase I was wrapped, funding for Phase II became questionable — to the point of jeopardizing the planned start of its construction.
But, in the fall of 2021, the Boyd Foundation, working through the River Alliance, proposed that if Richland County would provide $2.2 million in funding for the completion of the Broad River Riverwalk from Boyd Island to the location of the bulkhead of the proposed Broad River pedestrian bridge, the foundation would fund up to $3.2 million of the anticipated cost of the structure.
Richland County quickly agreed to the terms of that proposal.
County tax dollars also paid for the first phase of the Saluda Riverwalk, which runs from the Interstate 26 interchange down the river to Boyd Island.
Construction on the new bridge could begin before the end of this year. The work is expected to take up to 18 months to complete.
Eventually, the goal is to connect the trail system from the Columbia Canal all the way to Lake Murray Dam, an earthen embankment structure located approximately 10 mi. west of Columbia on the Saluda River.
The Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission is working on a separate trail project that would construct trails from the dam to the I-26 interchange.
Compared to building a bridge, Mike Dawson, CEO of the River Alliance, told the Sun News that carving out those pathways will be relatively easy.
"Crossing the river is the hard part," he explained. "The Broad River Bridge is the key to all this."
"Every time we do one of these things, I think, ‘Wow … this is the greatest project we've ever done,'" Dawson noted, adding that the best part is seeing people use the river walks.
He recently accompanied a travel photographer on a trip to the Saluda, "and [the riverwalk] is swarming with people. These are legitimate citizens having a great time on the river and enjoying the heck out of this place."
The trail connections also will have to wait for the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to finish work on the Carolina Crossroads project which is completely rebuilding the I-26 and I-126 interchange. The corridor is not-so-affectionately referred to as the "Malfunction Junction."
That project is expected to be under construction until at least 2029, according to the state transportation agency.
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