Drivers leaving Hilton Head Island Saturday afternoon found themselves waiting in back-to-back traffic, after a piece of metal was spotted poking out of an expansion joint on the U.S. 278 bridge.

According to a social media post from the Town of Hilton Head Island, SCDOT crews shut down the left westbound land of the bridge around 10:15 a.m. and removed the metal, reopening the lane around 12:15 p.m.

SCDOT told town officials that the piece of metal was “non-structural” and that “removing it will not have an impact on the structural integrity of the bridge,” according to the post.

The incident sparked concerns on social media about the safety and condition of the bridge. In recent years, SCDOT has raised alarms about the condition of the bridge in the past.

SCDOT: ‘Safe for travel’

According to a Town of Hilton Head Island Government social media post, SCDOT has confirmed that all repairs to the bridge have been completed.

SCDOT told the Hilton Head officials that the expansion joint was struck by some type of object, likely something that was dropped or dragged from a vehicle. The impact caused a “non-essential” piece of metal to emerge from the joint.

Transportation officials do not plan to replace to metal piece because “doing so would cause more harm” to the infrastructure, according to the social media post.

What was that ‘crack’?

Some drivers were alarmed after seeing what appeared to be a crack in the bridge. However, SCDOT told town officials that the gap is a sign of the joint “functioning properly.”

Bridges expand as temperature rises and contracts when temperatures drop. Expansion joints are necessary to account for these changes, according to SCDOT.

Not the same bridge

The piece of metal sticking out of the bridge was spotted on the westbound bridge, where drivers travel from Hilton Head Island to the mainland.

SCDOT has raised alarm bells about the condition of the bridge in the past. Recent inspections have revealed structural deficiencies in the eastbound bridge, which carries drivers from the mainland to Hilton Head Island, but the westbound bridge was determined to be in satisfactory condition.

In response to an interview request, a spokesperson for SCDOT told The Island Packet that no engineers were available to speak on the phone, but that information could be provided in response to emailed questions.

A representative told The Island Packet over the phone that many engineers have been deployed to northern South Carolina in response to winter storm Fern.