Editing Charleston, South Carolina (section)

==Transportation==

===Airport and rail===
The City of Charleston is served by the [[Charleston International Airport]]. It is located in the City of North Charleston and is about {{cvt|12|mi}} northwest of downtown Charleston. It is the busiest passenger airport in South Carolina {{airport codes|CHS|KCHS}}. The airport shares runways with the adjacent [[Charleston Air Force Base]]. [[Charleston Executive Airport]] is a smaller airport located in Charleston's John's Island section and is used by noncommercial aircraft. Both airports are owned and operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority. As of April 2019, [[British Airways]] does seasonal non-stop flights from Charleston to [[Heathrow Airport|London-Heathrow]].

Charleston is served by two daily [[Amtrak]] trains: [[Palmetto (Amtrak)|The Palmetto]] and [[Silver Meteor]] at [[North Charleston station|the Amtrak station]], located at 4565 Gaynor Avenue in the City of North Charleston, which is approximately 7.5 miles from downtown Charleston.

===Interstates and highways===

[[Interstate 26 in South Carolina|I-26]] begins in Downtown Charleston, with exits to the Septima Clark Expressway, the [[Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge]] and Meeting Street. Heading northwest, it connects the city to [[North Charleston, South Carolina|North Charleston]], the [[Charleston International Airport]], [[Interstate 95 in South Carolina|I-95]], and Columbia. The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and Septima Clark Expressway are part of [[U.S. Route 17 in South Carolina|US&nbsp;17]], which travels east–west through Charleston and Mount Pleasant. The Mark Clark Expressway, or [[Interstate 526|I-526]], is the [[Bypass (road)|bypass]] around the city and begins and ends at US&nbsp;17. [[U.S. Route 52 in South Carolina|US&nbsp;52]] is Meeting Street and its [[U,.S. Route 52 Spur (Charleston, South Carolina)|spur]] is East Bay Street, which becomes Morrison Drive after leaving the east side. This highway merges with King Street in the city's Neck area (industrial district). [[U.S. Route 78 in South Carolina|US&nbsp;78]] is King Street in the downtown merging with Meeting Street.

====Major highways====
* {{Jct|state=SC|I|26}} (eastern terminus is in Charleston)
* {{Jct|state=SC|I|526}}
* {{Jct|state=SC|US|17}}
* {{Jct|state=SC|US|52}} (eastern terminus is in Charleston)
* {{Jct|state=SC|US|78}} (eastern terminus is in Charleston)
* {{Jct|state=SC|SC|7}} (Sam Rittenberg Boulevard)
* {{Jct|state=SC|SC|30}} (James Island Expressway)
* {{Jct|state=SC|SC|61}} (St. Andrews Boulevard/Ashley River Road)
* {{Jct|state=SC|SC|171}} (Old Towne Road/Folly Road)
* {{Jct|state=SC|SC|461}} (Paul Cantrell Boulevard/Glenn McConnell Parkway)
* {{Jct|state=SC|SC|700}} (Maybank Highway)

====Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge====
The [[Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge]] across the [[Cooper River (South Carolina)|Cooper River]] opened on July 16, 2005, and was the [[List of longest cable-stayed bridge spans|longest]] [[cable-stayed bridge]] in the Americas at the time of its construction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The $540 Million Super-Strong, Robust Cable-Stayed Bridge In Charleston {{!}} Manufacturing America |date=March 2, 2015 |url=http://www.magoda.com/construction/the-540-million-super-strong-robust-cable-stayed-bridge-in-charleston/ |access-date=2020-07-31 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108094450/http://www.magoda.com/construction/the-540-million-super-strong-robust-cable-stayed-bridge-in-charleston/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The bridge links downtown Charleston with Mount Pleasant, and has eight lanes plus a 12-foot lane shared by pedestrians and bicycles. The bridge's height varies but is estimated at 573 feet. It replaced the [[John P. Grace Memorial Bridge|Grace Memorial Bridge]] (built in 1929) and the [[Silas N. Pearman Bridge]] (built in 1966). They were considered two of the more dangerous bridges in America and were demolished after the Ravenel Bridge opened.

[[File:Ravenel Bridge at night from Mt Pleasant (cropped).jpg|thumb|center|upright=3.5|The new Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, constructed in 2005 and named after the late [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] [[Arthur Ravenel Jr.]], who pushed the project to fruition, was at the time of its construction the [[List of longest cable-stayed bridge spans|longest]] [[cable-stayed bridge]] in the [[Western Hemisphere]].]]

===City bus service===
The city is also served by a bus system operated by the [[Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority]] (CARTA). Most of the urban area is served by regional fixed-route buses equipped with bike racks as part of the system's Rack and Ride program. CARTA offers connectivity to historic downtown attractions and accommodations with the Downtown Area Shuttle trolley buses, and it offers curbside pickup for disabled passengers with its Tel-A-Ride buses. A [[bus rapid transit]] system is in development, called [[Lowcountry Rapid Bus System|Lowcountry Rapid Transit]], that will connect Charleston to Summerville through North Charleston.

Rural parts of the city and metropolitan area are served by a different bus system operated by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Rural Transportation Management Association. The system is also commonly called the TriCounty Link.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ridetricountylink.com/index.html |title=TriCounty Link rural bus service with flagstop system serving Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties of South Carolina |publisher=Ridetricountylink.com |access-date=September 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101032104/http://www.ridetricountylink.com/index.html |archive-date=November 1, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Port===
{{Main|Port of Charleston}}
[[File:The 13,092-TEU container ship COSCO Development works at the Port of Charleston's Wando Welch Terminal.jpg|thumb|left|Wanda Welch Terminal in the Port of Charleston]]
The Port of Charleston, owned and operated by the South Carolina Ports Authority, is one of the largest ports in the United States, ranked seventh in the top 25 by [[containerization|containerized cargo]] volume in 2018.<ref name="bts.gov"/> It consists of six terminals, with the sixth opening in April 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charleston Opens First New U.S. Container Terminal in 12 Years |url=https://maritime-executive.com/article/charleston-opens-first-new-u-s-container-terminal-in-12-years |website=The Maritime Executive |access-date=April 10, 2021 |language=en |date=April 9, 2021 |archive-date=April 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409234212/https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/charleston-opens-first-new-u-s-container-terminal-in-12-years |url-status=live }}</ref> Port activity at the two terminals located in the city of Charleston is one of the city's leading sources of revenue, behind tourism.

Today, the Port of Charleston boasts the deepest water in the southeast region and regularly handles ships too big to transit through the [[Panama Canal]]. A harbor-deepening project was completed,<ref>{{cite web |date=October 13, 2020 |title=Harbor Deepening |url=http://scspa.com/facilities/port-expansion/harbor-deepening/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014010914/http://scspa.com/facilities/port-expansion/harbor-deepening/ |archive-date=October 14, 2020 |access-date=October 13, 2020 |website=South Carolina Ports |language=en}}</ref> which makes the Port of Charleston's entrance channel a depth of {{convert|54|ft}} and harbor channel 52 feet at mean low tide. With an average high tide of {{convert|6|ft}}, the depth clearances will become {{convert|60|ft}} and 58 feet, respectively. At {{convert|52|ft}}, the Port of Charleston is the deepest harbor on the East Coast.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 5, 2022 |title=Charleston has deepest harbor on East Coast at 52 feet |url=https://scspa.com/news/charleston-has-deepest-harbor-on-east-coast-at-52-feet/ |access-date=April 4, 2024 |website=South Carolina Ports |language=en-US}}</ref>

Part of Union Pier Terminal in Charleston is a cruise ship passenger terminal hosting numerous cruise departures annually through 2019. Beginning in May 2019, until cruise operations were interrupted in April 2020, the [[Carnival Cruise Lines|Carnival]] [[Carnival Sunshine|''Sunshine'']] was permanently stationed in Charleston, offering 4, 5, and 7-day cruises to the [[Caribbean]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Newer, larger Carnival Sunshine to call Charleston home beginning in 2019 |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/business/newer-larger-carnival-sunshine-to-call-charleston-home-beginning-in-2019/article_788e2410-db50-11e7-b310-27d2608ad604.html |website=postandcourier.com |language=en |date=December 7, 2017 |access-date=October 13, 2020 |archive-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017144430/https://www.postandcourier.com/business/newer-larger-carnival-sunshine-to-call-charleston-home-beginning-in-2019/article_788e2410-db50-11e7-b310-27d2608ad604.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

With the closure of the Naval Base and the [[Charleston Naval Shipyard]] in 1996, Detyens, Inc. signed a long-term lease. Detyens Shipyard, Inc. is one of the East Coast's most extensive commercial marine repair facilities, with three dry docks, one floating dock, and six piers. Projects include military, commercial, and cruise ships.