Charleston’s $650-million Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge opened July 16, preceded by week-long festivities. Palmetto Bridge Constructors, a design-build consortium led by Norfolk, Va.-based Tidewater Skanska Inc. and Longmont, Colo.-based Flatiron Constructors Inc., coped with a bankrupt steel supplier and hurricane threats in completing its $531-million contract a year ahead of schedule. The 2.5-mile-long, eight-lane Cooper River crossing linking Charleston to Mount Pleasant includes a signature 1,546-ft-long cable-stayed main span supported on two diamond-shaped 575-ft-tall pylons. Demolition of two old bridges begins in August.