Royal Gorge Bridge

The Royal Gorge Bridge, part of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado. The park covers 360 acres along the edges of the Royal Gorge, with the bridge spanning both sides. The bridge sits 955 feet above the Arkansas River. It was the world’s highest bridge from 1929 until 2001, when China’s Liuguanghe Bridge took the record. It also held the title of highest suspension bridge until the Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge, also in China, surpassed it in 2003. The bridge is still the highest in the United States and ranked among the top ten highest bridges globally until 2012.

The main span between the towers measures 880 feet, with a total length of 1,260 feet, a width of 18 feet, and towers rising 150 feet. The steel structure is covered by 1,292 wooden planks. Construction took six months, from June to November 1929, costing $350,000 (about $5 million in 2024). In 1931, an incline railway—a funicular—was added beside the bridge to reach the gorge floor. A miniature railroad was built along the gorge edge in the 1950s, and an aerial tram opened in 1969. The bridge underwent renovations in the early 1980s, including new cable anchors, suspension rods, and paint. A Skycoaster attraction, which swings riders over the gorge edge, was added in 2003.

In June 2013, a wildfire destroyed most of the park’s buildings and the aerial tram, and damaged the incline. The bridge suffered only minor damage to its wooden deck, while the Skycoaster was unharmed. The park was rebuilt and partially reopened in August 2014, with a grand reopening in May 2015 featuring new gondolas and a zip-line crossing the gorge east of the bridge.

Construction began on June 5, 1929, and finished in November 1929. The bridge cost $350,000 and was built as a tourist attraction, not for transportation. The road from U.S. Route 50 leads to the bridge and continues on the south side of the gorge, eventually reconnecting with Route 50, but all visitors must enter and exit through the north park gate. Passenger vehicles are not allowed to cross. The road is designated Fremont County Road 3A, starting about 10 miles west of Cañon City. The Royal Gorge Route Railroad runs under the bridge along the gorge floor.

The project was financed by Lon P. Piper, president of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Amusement Company of San Antonio, Texas. He hired George E. Cole as chief engineer. The bridge was completed in about six months with no deaths or serious injuries, and formally opened on December 8, 1929. Piper agreed to a twenty-year lease of the gorge and surrounding land from Cañon City, paying $1,000 yearly (about $14,300 in 2024), with reduced fees of $500 (about $7,200 in 2024) in some hardship years. The final cost was $100,000 over budget (about $1.4 million in 2024).

In 1931, a 3-foot narrow-gauge incline railway was built to the gorge floor through a cleft west of the bridge’s north end. The first suicide occurred later that year when Verlyn Edward Bebb of Pueblo, Colorado, jumped from the bridge. In 1937, a lighting system was installed to illuminate the bridge and gorge walls. After struggling through the Great Depression and World War II, Piper sold the bridge and leasing rights in 1947 to a group of local Colorado businessmen and Clint Murchison, a Texan oil, gas, and real estate magnate. A long-time employee noted Murchison, who died in 1969, never visited the bridge he owned, even after becoming sole owner.

In the 1950s, a lodge was built by the gorge, and the Silver Rock Railway—a 2-foot narrow-gauge train with a Chance Rides miniature C.P. Huntington locomotive—began running along the gorge edge near the bridge. In 1956, Murchison and his Royal Gorge Bridge Company, based in Dallas, agreed to pay the city a percentage of revenue instead of the $1,000 yearly lease fee. This arrangement has proven very favorable for the city, allowing it to lower property taxes significantly, making the rate the lowest in Colorado.

In April 1962, Donald K. MacKenzie fell from the bridge, ruled a suicide by the Fremont County coroner. In 1967, an open bid for leasing rights drew interest from several companies, but Murchison’s company won, signing another twenty-year contract with the city. The aerial tram opened in 1969, crossing the gorge just east of the bridge. After Murchison’s death that year, his sons John and Clint Jr. inherited the bridge and lease. In 1979, John’s wife Lucille Murchison inherited them after his death. The bridge and incline railway were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 2, 1983. Official registration papers show that Cañon City had become the owner of the bridge and incline at some point since the 1940s, while still owning the land leased to the Royal Gorge Bridge Company. The bridge underwent major renovations from 1980 to 1984, including new cable anchors, suspension rods, and repainting.