The contractor was to dig a 50 foot wide channel through the mud which would then be filled with dredged sand from the nearby waters.

[4] Although the preliminary work moved forward, progress on the superstructure of the bridge was held up for many months due to the lack of steel during World War II; the military supported the completion of the project, though, and the project moved forward again starting in 1943.

[2] The bridge was heavily damaged during Hurricane Hugo, leaving one end of the main span in the Intracoastal Waterway.

Pictures of the damaged bridge are some of the most recognizable lasting images of the destruction wrought by the storm.

[2] A $32.5 million[7] rehabilitation of the Ben Sawyer Bridge was approved by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) in August 2008.