Red Cliff Bridge

Red Cliff Bridge
Coordinates 39°30′30″N 106°22′36″W / 39.50833°N 106.37667°W / 39.50833; -106.37667Coordinates: 39°30′30″N 106°22′36″W / 39.50833°N 106.37667°W / 39.50833; -106.37667
Carries US 24
Crosses Eagle River
Locale Red Cliff, Colorado
Characteristics
Design Arch bridge
Total length 470 ft (143 m)
Width 29.8 ft (9.1 m)
Longest span 317.8 ft (96.9 m)
History
Construction begin 1939
Construction end 1940
Construction cost $218,817[1]
Opened 1941

Red Cliff Bridge (also known as the Eagle River Bridge) (to locals it is known as the "Silver Bridge" for it was originally painted silver) is an arch bridge near Red Cliff, Colorado that carries U.S. Highway 24 over the Eagle River and the former Union Pacific Railroad track over Tennessee Pass. It is one of only two steel arch bridges within the entire state[2] and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (reference number 85000204[3]).

The bridge was designed by King Burghardt and built in 1940. Construction was difficult, with workers starting with a cantilevered design, sometimes in sub-freezing (below 32 °F/ 0 °C) temperatures hanging over a 200-foot (61 m) drop. Burghardt wrote in his journal, "In the morning, each gang was lifted to its scaffold on a platform hung from the high line. They took their lunches with them and spent the entire day in the air with the winter wind continually blowing up the canyon."[2] The steel erection superintendent for the project was Earl "Doc" Lay of Minneapolis Steel Company. Cliff Prince was the operator of the highline hoisting system. Off and on, Prince was a law student at the University of Utah. C.P. "Chick" Lay and Ray Walton Sr. were Ironworkers on the project from Union Local 27 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nels Neilson was the timekeeper for the job. N.P. Mettome was the Western Regional V.P. for Minneapolis Steel at the time.

Over the years, the bridge's condition deteriorated, necessitating restoration work, which was completed in November 2004 at a cost of $3.6 million,[2] with approximately half of that coming from the Federal Highway Administration.[4] The bridge deck was replaced and widened and much of the steel was repainted. However, because of the bridge's historic status, care was taken to maintain the visual aesthetic. The rehabilitation effort won the 2005 National Steel Bridge Alliance Prize Bridge Award for Reconstructed Bridge.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nancy Shanks (October 2005), Preserving Red Cliff Arch, Federal Highway Administration, retrieved 12 August 2014
  2. 1 2 3 Shanks, Nancy (September–October 2005). "Preserving Red Cliff Arch". Public Roads. 69 (2). Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  3. ↑ National Park Service (2006-03-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. ↑ "U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Announces $6.4 Million for Colorado Highway, Bridge Projects". Federal Highway Administration. May 4, 2004. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  5. ↑ "2005 Winners". National Steel Bridge Alliance. December 1, 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2007-08-13.


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