Bixby Bridge: Difference between revisions

Bixby Creek Arch Bridge
Bixby Creek Arch Bridge
	Bixby Creek Bridge from its northern end
Coordinates	36°22′16.90″N 121°54′6.05″W / 36.3713611°N 121.9016806°W
Carries	California State Route 1
Crosses	Bixby Creek
Locale	Big Sur; Monterey County
Characteristics
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)
History
Construction start	August 24, 1931
Construction end	October 15, 1932
Opened	November 27, 1932
Statistics
Daily traffic	4,500
Location

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Revision as of 00:33, 1 July 2008

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.

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] It is “one of the most photographed features on the West Coast”^[3] because of its location along the scenic Central Coast of California, and has frequently been used in automobile commercials.

Bixby Creek Bridge is important historically because it introduced automobile travel to Big Sur, connecting the remote coastal towns to each other. The construction of the bridge began on August 24, 1931 and was completed on October 15, 1932^[4] . 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.

The bridge was retrofitted in 1996 by bridge engineering company Buckland & Taylor as part of the Caltrans Phase II seismic retrofit program.^[5]

In popular culture

The bridge was featured in the opening sequence of the television series "Then Came Bronson" in the late 1960s.
"Bixby Canyon Bridge" is the name of a song by alternative rock band Death Cab for Cutie on their 2008 album Narrow Stairs.

View of the Pacific Ocean from the Bixby Creek Bridge

References

^ Bridgehunter - Historic Bridges of the U.S.: Bixby Creek Bridge
^ Structurae database: Bixby Creek Bridge (1933)
^ California Views: BCB Historical Collection
^ California Views: BCB from the Pat Hathaway collection
^ Buckland & Taylor Ltd. Projects: Bixby Creek Bridge retrofit

External links

Essay discussing the building and social aspects of the bridge on Pelicannetwork.net
Bixby Creek Bridge (1933) at Structurae

This article about a specific bridge in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about a California building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Bridgehunter - Historic Bridges of the U.S.: Bixby Creek Bridge

[2] Structurae database: Bixby Creek Bridge (1933)

[3] California Views: BCB Historical Collection

[4] California Views: BCB from the Pat Hathaway collection

[5] Buckland & Taylor Ltd. Projects: Bixby Creek Bridge retrofit

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 |caption       = '''Bixby Creek Bridge''' from its northern end
 |official_name =
-|carries       = [[Image:California 1.svg|20px]] [[California State Route 1|Cabrillo Highway]]
+|carries       = [[Image:California 1.svg|20px]] [[California State Route 1]]
 |crosses       = Bixby Creek
-|locale        = [[Big Sur]]
+|locale        = [[Big Sur]]<br>[[Monterey County]]
 |maint         =
 |id            =
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 |length        = {{convert|714|ft|m|0}}
 |width         = {{convert|24|ft|m|0}}
-|height        =
+|height        = {{convert|280|ft|m|0}}
 |load          =
 |clearance     =
-|below         = 79.2 meters (260 ft)
+|below         = {{convert|260|ft|m|0}}
+|traffic       = 4,500<ref>Bridgehunter - Historic Bridges of the U.S.: [http://bridgehunter.com/ca/monterey/440019/ Bixby Creek Bridge]</ref>
-|traffic       =
-|begin         = 1931
+|begin         = [[August 24]], [[1931]]
-|complete      = 1933
+|complete      = [[October 15]], [[1932]]
-|open          = 1933
+|open          = [[November 27]], [[1932]]
 |closed        =
 |toll          =
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 }}
-'''Bixby Creek Bridge''' is a [[reinforced concrete]] open-[[spandrel]] [[arch bridge]] in [[Big Sur]], [[California]], {{convert|120|mi|km}} south of [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] along Cabrillo Highway ([[California State Route 1|SR 1]]). It is {{convert|714|ft|m}} long, {{convert|24|ft|m}} wide and has a main span of 320 feet. It is one of the most photographed bridges in the world because of its location along the scenic [[Central Coast of California]], and has frequently been used in automobile commercials.
+'''Bixby Creek Bridge''' is a [[reinforced concrete]] open-[[spandrel]] [[arch bridge]] in [[Big Sur]], [[California]]. It is located {{convert|120|mi|km}} south of [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and {{convert|13|mi|km}} south of [[Carmel-by-the-Sea, California|Carmel]] in [[Monterey County]] along [[California State Route 1|California Highway One]].
+It is {{convert|714|ft|m}} long, {{convert|24|ft|m}} wide, over {{convert|280|ft|m}} high and has a main span of {{convert|320|ft|m}}.<ref>[[Structurae]] database: [http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000502 Bixby Creek Bridge (1933)]</ref> It is “one of the most photographed features on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]”<ref>California Views: [http://www.caviews.com/bixbybri.htm BCB Historical Collection]</ref> because of its location along the scenic [[Central Coast of California]], and has frequently been used in automobile commercials.
-Bixby Creek Bridge is important historically because it introduced automobile travel to [[Big Sur]], connecting the remote coastal towns to each other. Before the bridge was completed in [[1933]], coastal travelers endured rough wagon roads over precipitous ridges and valleys. The {{convert|30|mi|km|sing=on}} journey from [[Monterey]] to the [[Big Sur River]] valley could take three days round trip.  The [[design engineer]] for the bridge was Norman Raab, who also designed the [[Donner Summit]] Bridge (a concrete arch bridge near [[Truckee, CA]]).
+Bixby Creek Bridge is important [[Big Sur#Before and after Highway 1|historically]] because it introduced automobile travel to [[Big Sur]], connecting the remote coastal towns to each other. The construction of the bridge began on [[August 24]], [[1931]] and was completed on [[October 15]], [[1932]]<ref>California Views: [http://www.caviews.com/bixby.htm BCB from the Pat Hathaway collection]</ref> . Before the bridge was opened on [[November 27]], [[1932]], coastal travelers endured rough wagon roads over precipitous ridges and valleys. The {{convert|30|mi|km|sing=on}} journey from [[Monterey]] to the [[Big Sur River]] valley could take three days round trip.
-The bridge was retrofitted in [[1997]] as part of the [[California Department of Transportation|Caltrans]] Phase II [[seismic retrofit]] program.
+The bridge was retrofitted in [[1996]] by bridge [[engineering]] company Buckland & Taylor as part of the [[California Department of Transportation|Caltrans]] Phase II [[seismic retrofit]] program.<ref>Buckland & Taylor Ltd. Projects: [http://www.b-t.com/projects/bixby.htm Bixby Creek Bridge retrofit]</ref>
 ==In popular culture==
@@ Line 42: / Line 44: @@
 * "Bixby Canyon Bridge" is the name of a song by [[alternative rock]] band [[Death Cab for Cutie]] on their 2008 album ''[[Narrow Stairs]]''.
-{{Wide image|pacific_from_bixby.jpg|840px|View of the Pacific Ocean from the Bixby Creek Bridge}}
+{{Wide image|pacific_from_bixby.jpg|840px|View of the [[Pacific Ocean]] from the Bixby Creek Bridge}}
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
 ==External links==
-* [http://www.pelicannetwork.net/bigsur.bixby.bridge.htm Essay discussing the building and social aspects of the bridge]
+* [http://www.pelicannetwork.net/bigsur.bixby.bridge.htm Essay discussing the building and social aspects of the bridge] on Pelicannetwork.net
 * {{Structurae|id=s0000502|title=Bixby Creek Bridge (1933)}}
 <!-- {{Geolinks-US-buildingscale|36.372478|-121.903025}} -->
@@ Line 52: / Line 58: @@
 [[Category:Bridges in California]]
 [[Category:Bridges completed in 1932]]
+<br>
 {{US-bridge-struct-stub}}
 {{California-struct-stub}}