Connecting Campus: Wheat Street Pedestrian Bridge to be completed in 2025

The University of South Carolina is making strides towards a fully accessible campus with the construction of a new pedestrian bridge.

Construction is underway for a 120-foot bridge crossing over Wheat Street. The bridge will connect Campus Village (formerly South Campus) on Whaley Street and the Cregger Athletics Village, home to the Dodie Anderson sports academic center, to the heart of campus, without the interference of Wheat Street traffic.

“The project is expected to be completed sometime in 2025 and will yield a better walking and bikeable campus,” said Collyn Taylor, USC’s internal communications manager. 

Students will be able to pass from the bridge outside the Blossom Street Garage to the bridge beside the Blatt Physical Education Center on Wheat Street without having to use stairs or cross traffic.

Ryan Hufford is a member of the USC swimming team, which is based out of the Blatt facility. He uses both the Blossom bridge and the Blatt bridge to get to class, practice and home. 

“My most common mode of transportation to get around campus is my bike,” Hufford said. “… I have to stop at traffic very often whenever I’m crossing Wheat Street in front of Blatt. So I think this bridge will benefit me extremely.”

The Wheat Street Pedestrian Bridge is one of nine current construction or renovation projects happening on the Columbia campus. One of the largest is the just-begun Health Sciences Campus at the Bull Street Neighborhood, which will be home to USC’s School of Medicine.

“Now that the university is doing a lot of these projects, they’re making sure that there’s a consistent design language within the projects,” said Maxim Narab, the bridge architect.

Details such as railing design and color will match other bridges on campus. The bridge will also include color changing LED lights.

“We can do something beautiful even if it’s a simple bridge, even if it’s a small, 120-foot-long bridge,” Narab said. “We can bring something nice. We can focus on the small details and really give something memorable for the area.”