Bixby Creek Arch Bridge

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"Bixby Canyon Bridge" redirects here. For the Death Cab for Cutie song, see Narrow Stairs.
Bixby Creek Arch Bridge
Bixby Creek Bridge from its northern end
Carries California 1.svg California State Route 1
Crosses Bixby Creek
Locale Big Sur
Monterey County
Design reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge
Total length 714 feet (218 m)
Width 24 feet (7 m)
Height 280 feet (85 m)
Longest span 320 feet (98 m)
Clearance below 260 feet (79 m)
AADT 4,500[1]
Beginning date of construction August 24, 1931
Completion date October 15, 1932
Opened November 27, 1932
Coordinates 36°22′16.90″N 121°54′6.05″W / 36.371361°N 121.9016806°W / 36.371361; -121.9016806 (Bixby Creek Arch Bridge)Coordinates: 36°22′16.90″N 121°54′6.05″W / 36.371361°N 121.9016806°W / 36.371361; -121.9016806 (Bixby Creek Arch Bridge)

Bixby Creek Bridge is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge in Big Sur, California. It is located 120 miles (190 km) south of San Francisco and 13 miles (21 km) south of Carmel in Monterey County along California Highway One.

Bixby Creek Bridge is important historically because it introduced automobile travel to Big Sur, connecting the remote coastal towns to each other.

[edit] History

It is 714 feet (218 m) long, 24 feet (7.3 m) wide, over 280 feet (85 m) high and has a main span of 320 feet (98 m).[2] Its two heavy buttresses are unnecessary to support the structure, and later arch bridges such as the Frederick W. Panhorst Bridge omitted them from the design.[3] It is “one of the most photographed features on the West Coast”[4] because of its location along the scenic Central Coast of California, and has frequently been used in automobile commercials. The construction of the bridge began on August 24, 1931 and was completed on October 15, 1932[5] . Local legend has it that during construction, a Chinese laborer was killed in a construction accident. Rather than delay construction with a police investigation, the body was thrown into the fresh concrete of the north pillar. This story is frequently told, but has not been corroborated. Before the bridge was opened on November 27, 1932, coastal travelers endured rough wagon roads over precipitous ridges and valleys. The 30-mile (48 km) journey from Monterey to the Big Sur River valley could take three days round trip. It has since become a regional landmark, and was used in the opening sequences of the television series Then Came Bronson and the film Play Misty for Me. The bridge figures prominently in posters and other publicity material of the Big Sur International Marathon.

The bridge was retrofitted in 1996 by bridge engineering company Buckland & Taylor as part of the Caltrans Phase II seismic retrofit program.[6]

View of the Pacific Ocean from the Bixby Creek Bridge
Aerial view of Bixby Bridge, near the outcropping of rocks which resembles a dinosaur, June, 1965
View from N.W.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bridgehunter - Historic Bridges of the U.S.: Bixby Creek Bridge
  2. ^ Structurae database: Bixby Creek Bridge (1933)
  3. ^ Elliot, Arthur L. (1983), "Esthetic Development of California's Bridges", Journal of Structural Engineering 109 (9): 2159–2174, doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(1983)109:9(2159) .
  4. ^ California Views: BCB Historical Collection
  5. ^ California Views: BCB from the Pat Hathaway collection
  6. ^ Buckland & Taylor Ltd. Projects: Bixby Creek Bridge retrofit

[edit] External links


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