Overview:-
- The Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado within Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, a 360-acre (150 ha) amusement park located along the edge of the Royal Gorge around both ends of the bridge. The bridge crosses the gorge 955 feet (291 m) above the Arkansas River and held the record of highest bridge in the world from 1929 until 2001 when it was surpassed by the Liuguanghe Bridge in China.
- The Royal Gorge Bridge maintained the title of the world’s highest suspension bridge until the Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge was completed in 2003, also in China. The bridge remains the highest bridge in the United States and was among the ten highest bridges in the world until 2012.
- The main span of the bridge between the towers is 880 feet (268 m), the total length is 1,260 feet (384 m), the width is 18 feet (5.5 m) and the towers are 150 feet (46 m) high. The steel base structure is covered with 1292 wooden planks.Passenger vehicles are allowed to cross the bridge but only before park attractions open or after they close, times depending on season. Oversize vehicles including large trucks, RVs and buses are not permitted to cross.
- The bridge was built in six months between June and November 1929 at a cost of $350,000. In 1931, an incline railway, or funicular, was added beside the bridge to reach the bottom of the gorge. In the 1950s, a miniature railroad was built by the edge of the gorge and an aerial tram was opened in 1969. In the early 1980s, the bridge was renovated with new cable anchors, suspension rods and paint. A Skycoaster attraction was added in 2003 with riders being swung out over the edge of the gorge.
- In June 2013, a wildfire destroyed most of the park’s buildings and the aerial tram, and damaged the funicular. The bridge sustained only slight damage to the wooden deck and was otherwise unharmed, along with the Skycoaster. The park was rebuilt and partially reopened in August 2014. The park had a grand reopening in May 2015 with new gondolas and a new zip-line crossing the gorge on the east side of the bridge.
Construction and location
- Construction began on June 5, 1929 and ended in November 1929. The bridge cost $350,000 and was constructed as a tourist attraction, not as a through route for transportation purposes. The road leading to the bridge from U.S. Route 50 continues on the south side of the gorge eventually re-connecting with Route 50; however, all visitors are required to enter and exit through the north park gate. The road on the south rim is blocked shortly beyond the bridge and all traffic must turn around.
- The road leading to and across the bridge from Route 50 is designated as Fremont County Road 3A and begins about 10 mi (16 km) west of Cañon City. The Royal Gorge Route Railroad runs under the bridge along the base of Royal Gorge.
Highest bridges
- The Royal Gorge Bridge surpassed the Sidi M’Cid Bridge in 1929 to become the highest bridge in the world with a deck height of 955 ft (291 m), measured from the deck to the river surface below. The Liuguanghe Bridge in China surpassed the Royal Gorge Bridge in 2001 to become the new highest bridge with a deck height of 974 ft (297 m).
- The Royal Gorge Bridge surrendered the title of the world’s highest suspension bridge when the Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge in China was completed in 2003 with a deck height of 1,200 ft (366 m). Several more even higher bridges, mostly in China, have been completed since 2003 causing the Royal Gorge Bridge to drop out of the top ten highest bridges in the world.
- The Royal Gorge Bridge remains the highest bridge in the United States and among the top twenty highest bridges in the world; however, several additional very high bridges are scheduled for completion through 2021. If all the planned bridges are completed, they will move the Royal Gorge Bridge out of the top twenty places in the rankings.
- Since late 2016, the highest bridge is China’s Beipanjiang Bridge Duge which has a cable-stayed span with a deck height of 1,854 ft (565 m). The current highest suspension bridge is China’s Sidu River Bridge opened in 2009 with a deck height of 1,627 ft (496 m).
