Our Story

The history of Carolina Bridge is filled with stories of family, friendship, and hard work. We build bridges all across the Carolinas and Georgia, and we also build lasting relationships across every level of this business. Employment with Carolina Bridge isn’t just a job, it’s an enjoyable and rewarding long-term career.

Over the last four-plus decades, Carolina Bridge has become a premier bridge-building company in the region. Current company President Richard Nickel and Vice President Dan Nickel are the third generation of their family to work at Carolina Bridge, following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather, who were both part of the company from the very beginning.

Their grandfather Dick Nickel flew P-47 Thunderbolts in World War II, before returning home to begin his career. After a stint with the North Carolina Department of Transportation doing bridge design, and a job working with precast concrete in Florida, Dick became the Vice President of bridge contractor Wannamaker & Wells in Orangeburg, SC. When the owner of Wannamaker & Wells retired, Dick bought some of his equipment and started Carolina Bridge.

Dick’s son Scott Nickel initially worked for another bridge contractor in the Chesapeake Bay, but when Dick formed Carolina Bridge, Scott decided to join his father in building his new company. They opened for business in 1971, and since then Carolina Bridge has completed over 200 projects for a total of over 400 bridges. Today, Richard and Dan take great pride in carrying on the family business started by their father and grandfather, and they run the company based on the same values and principles that have provided Carolina Bridge’s foundation from the start.

Throughout the decades, we’ve provided consistent, reliable employment to people willing to roll up their sleeves and put in some hard work. Many of our employees started with little experience, or even none at all. Our hiring process doesn’t focus on what you’ve done in the past, but rather on what kind of person you are, and how you’ll fit into our company culture. We also have a proud track record of promoting from within that encourages our people to stick around for the long haul. As Richard Nickel says, “if someone stays with us for at least eight months, they’ll probably stick with us for at least eight years.”

If you’re interested in joining the Carolina Bridge family, we invite you to take a look at our open positions. There’s no experience required for many of our careers, so if you’re the type of person who isn’t afraid of working hard, we would love to hear from you!