Greenville County's Gateway Project is rising from the dust, one bridge at a time.

As construction on the the massive, $231-million project nears its halfway point, four of the project's soon-to-be 13 bridges have climbed above the landscape in eastern Greenville County in time for Labor Day weekend.

The bridges serve as the foundation for a remodeled Interstate 385/I-85 interchange, one that will include a wider I-385, in addition to improvements to Roper Mountain Road, Woodruff Road, Garlington Road, Miller Road, and the Chrome Drive area. The Gateway Access Road near Chrome Drive has been completed and is open to traffic.

"Over the next 18 months, there should be bridges opening as they are completed along with new roadways," Project Manager Kimberly Bishop said. "The public will be able to start seeing the final configuration of the interchange as we near the completion date."

Construction of the revised interchange, which began in February 2016, is in its 19th month. The project is scheduled for completion in May 2019.

The newest elements of a rapidly-changing landscape are a bridge that will eventually carry I-385 southbound traffic to I-85 northbound lanes and another that will take I-385 northbound traffic to I-85's southbound lanes.

Both are near completion, said Bishop, who anticipates opening them "in the next couple months."

Girders have been erected for two other bridges, both future links between I-385 and I-85.

The bridge work is being done simultaneously with road and underground projects that are part of the Gateway package, one that will provide a reconfigured interchange and more traffic lanes at the intersection of I-85 and I-385.

The project will replace existing loop ramps with direct-connect, high-level flyover bridges and includes construction of a new collector-distributor roadway. Crews will also rehabilitate two existing bridges and construct retaining walls.

An average of 194,000 drivers per day use the interchange, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation. It is the state's third-busiest interchange.

An average of 400 workers are involved in the project daily. The work site is active about 22 hours per day.

The work is being done as a joint venture by Colorado-based Flatiron, one of the largest infrastructure contractors in North America, and Texas-based Zachry Construction Corporation.

Flatiron built the Arthur Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River in Charleston, completed in 2005, and the Carolina Bays Parkway in Myrtle Beach, completed in 2002.

Zachry completed the Interstate 20 widening project in Richland County in 2014 and is currently working on Interstate 40/Interstate 77 in Iredell County, North Carolina.

Abe Hardesty covers transportation for The Greenville News and the Independent Mail