Great Bridges Codexery

Royal Gorge Bridge

The highest suspension bridge in the United States, spanning the Royal Gorge since 1929.

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Royal Gorge Bridge

via Wikipedia: Royal Gorge Bridge · see source

Where it is

Street map of the area around Royal Gorge Bridge; the red dot marks 38°27′43″N 105°19′30″W
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Coordinates: 38°27′43″N 105°19′30″W (38.4620, -105.3250) · Open in OpenStreetMap

Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Royal Gorge Bridge (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.

The Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado, crossing the Arkansas River 955 feet below.[1] It held the record as the world's highest bridge from 1929 until 2001.[1] No other bridge in the United States exceeds the height of this one.[1]

Geography and history

In 1931, a narrow gauge incline railway was built to the bottom of the gorge just west of the north end of the bridge.[2] The park reopened on August 30, 2014, and a grand reopening ceremony occurred on May 8, 2015.[3] December 8, 1929, marked the date of the official opening ceremony.[4] The National Register of Historic Places added both the bridge and the incline railway to its listings on September 2, 1983.[5]

A wildfire that occurred in June 2013 ravaged most of the park's structures and the aerial tram, yet the bridge itself suffered only minor harm to its wooden surface.[6][7]

What the cited sources add

The same source states the bridge was conceived as a tourism and salesmanship project, not a transportation route.[8] A 1999 article reports that William Fehr purchased rail lines through the gorge in July 1998, including the "air rights" above the tracks.[9] Fehr then increased the air rights fee to $750,000 a year after his bid to purchase the concession was declined.[9] A 2012 news piece reports that three individuals died by suicide from the bridge on March 6, March 14, and May 8 of that year.[10][11]

That same article indicates that over the preceding twelve years, the typical annual suicide count had been one.[10][11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Royal Gorge Fire, June 2013 - Still Standing Tall 2013-2014", 2014-01-01; Rappold, "Arizona man topples Royal Gorge Bridge's lofty claim", The Gazette, March 3, 2010; "List of Highest International Bridges", HighestBridges.com, 2016-11-15; "List of Highest International Bridges", HighestBridges.com, 2016-11-15; "List of Highest International Bridges", HighestBridges.com, 2016-11-15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dexheimer, "The Royal Grudge Bridge", Denver Westword, LLC, 1999-04-29; "Trams of the World 2017", blickpunktstrab.net, January 24, 2017, p. 57; Dexheimer, "The Royal Grudge Bridge", Denver Westword, LLC, 1999-04-29; Dexheimer, "The Royal Grudge Bridge", Denver Westword, LLC, 1999-04-29 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stanley, "Royal Gorge Park reopens Saturday, 14 months after fire damaged the park and bridge", 7ABC-Scripps TV Station Group, The E.W. Scripps Co, 2014-08-29; Staff, "Grand Reopening Showcases How Far Royal Gorge Bridge & Park Has Come Post-Fire", KKTV-11, 2015-05-08; "Royal Gorge Fire, June 2013 - Still Standing Tall 2013-2014", 2014-01-01; "Operating Hours", 2016; "Rides & Attractions", 2016; "Royal Rush Skycoaster", 2016; Koen, "Royal Gorge zip line opens", KOAA-TV Channel 5, NBC News Digital, LLC, 2015-03-30; "Cloudscraper Zip L en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Engineering Facts", Royal Gorge Bridge and Park (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "National Register Digital Assets", National Park Service, 1983-09-02 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Royal Gorge Fire, June 2013 - Still Standing Tall 2013-2014", 2014-01-01; Stanley, "Royal Gorge Park reopens Saturday, 14 months after fire damaged the park and bridge", 7ABC-Scripps TV Station Group, The E.W. Scripps Co, 2014-08-29; Staff, "Grand Reopening Showcases How Far Royal Gorge Bridge & Park Has Come Post-Fire", KKTV-11, 2015-05-08; Koen, "Royal Gorge zip line opens", KOAA-TV Channel 5, NBC News Digital, LLC, 2015-03-30 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Canterbury, "Cañon City Police Department: Royal Gorge Fire man-made", Daily Record, 2014-02-28; "Royal Gorge Fire, June 2013 - Still Standing Tall 2013-2014", 2014-01-01; "Engineering Facts", Royal Gorge Bridge and Park; "Royal Gorge Fire, June 2013 - Still Standing Tall 2013-2014", 2014-01-01; "Royal Gorge Fire, June 2013 - Still Standing Tall 2013-2014", 2014-01-01; "Royal Gorge Fire, June 2013 - Still Standing Tall 2013-2014", 2014-01-01; Canterbury, "Moving Forward: Royal Gorge Bridge and Park officials talk rebuilding after dev en.wikipedia.org
  8. Dexheimer, "The Royal Grudge Bridge", Denver Westword, LLC, 1999-04-29. facts only, no text reused. westword.com
  9. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dexheimer, "The Royal Grudge Bridge", Denver Westword, LLC, 1999-04-29; Staff, "New battle looms for the Royal Gorge", Colorado Central Publishing, LLC, 1999-06-01; Dexheimer, "The Royal Grudge Bridge - see addendum at end of article", Denver Westword, LLC, 2000-01-05 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Canterbury, "Cañon City receives bill for recovery of remains from Royal Gorge Bridge jumpers: Bridge had three separate suicide incidents this year", Daily Record, 2012-09-05. facts only, no text reused. canoncitydailyrecord.com
  11. Wikipedia, "Royal Gorge Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Canterbury, "Cañon City receives bill for recovery of remains from Royal Gorge Bridge jumpers: Bridge had three separate suicide incidents this year", Daily Record, 2012-09-05; Kelley, "Deaths by suicide decrease at Royal Gorge Bridge following safety upgrades", Denver Gazette, 2026-02-07 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Royal Gorge Bridge (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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