The Wappoo Creek Bridge — also called the Wappoo Cut Bridge — carries SC-171 (Folly Road) over Wappoo Creek, connecting West Ashley to James Island in Charleston. As a bascule drawbridge on a busy stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway, its restricted opening schedule is one of the most-checked in the Lowcountry.
This bascule (lift-leaf) drawbridge is a key Charleston-area crossing where Folly Road meets the Wappoo Cut. Because of heavy commuter and marine traffic, the Wappoo Creek Bridge operates on a restricted Coast Guard schedule with set opening windows and rush-hour closures.
| When | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Mon–Fri, 6:00–9:29 AM | Closed to boats. The draw does not open for vessels during the morning commute. |
| Mon–Fri, 9:30 AM–3:30 PM | Opens once an hour, on the half hour, when a vessel requests it. |
| Mon–Fri, 3:31–7:00 PM | Closed to boats through the evening commute. |
| Weekends & federal holidays | Opens on signal at any hour, so there is no schedule to plan around. |
| Live status | TheBridge shows the bridge's current state and alerts you the moment it changes. |
Schedules and rush-hour restrictions can change seasonally and by Coast Guard regulation. TheBridge shows the current status and recent opening history in real time — always the most reliable source.
TheBridge app shows the live status of the Wappoo Creek Bridge in Charleston, SC in real time. Open the app to see whether the bridge is currently open to boats or open to road traffic, and turn on push alerts so you're notified the moment it changes.
Under the Coast Guard regulation for this bridge (33 CFR 117.911), the draw stays closed to boats from 6:00 to 9:29 AM and from 3:31 to 7:00 PM Monday through Friday. Between 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM on weekdays it opens only once an hour, on the half hour. On weekends and federal holidays there is no restriction at all, so it opens on signal whenever a vessel arrives.
Enable notifications in TheBridge and you'll get an instant push alert when the Wappoo Creek Bridge opens or closes — so you can leave a few minutes early or take another route.
No. TheBridge is free to download on the App Store and Google Play. Track the Wappoo Creek Bridge and other coastal drawbridges, see live status, and get alerts at no cost.
TheBridge has been monitoring the span continuously. Over a recent 30-day stretch it opened 105 times, an average of 3.5 openings a day, and each opening held traffic for about 5 to 6 minutes.
Saturday, by a wide margin. In that same 30-day window Saturdays averaged 7.5 openings a day, against 1.2 on Wednesday. Weekends account for nearly half of all openings because the weekday half-hour restriction does not apply.
On a weekday between 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM, mostly yes: 93 percent of openings in that window landed on the half hour. On a weekend it does not work at all. Only 8 percent of weekend openings fell near the half hour, and that is when the bridge is busiest.
Download TheBridge free and get an instant alert every time the Wappoo Creek Bridge opens.
