Daggett County, Utah.

If you drive to Flaming Gorge, you’ll find yourself on U.S. Highway 191, and at some point on your way to the dam and reservoir, you’ll cross the Cart Creek Bridge. Fortunately, there is a large area near the bridge for you to capture photos of the graceful steel arch-designed bridge.

Constructed in 1962, the bridge was originally used for workers to cross Cart Creek on their way to work on the Flaming Gorge Dam. Once the dam was completed, the reservoir backed up into Cart Creek, so the bridge crossed the creek for only two years. Since the dam’s completion, it crosses Cart Creek Bay.

The image above was captured shortly after the completion of the bridge in September 1963. At that time, the dam was not yet completed Cart Creek still flowed naturally into the Snake River instead of the reservoir. More details on the photo and history of the bridge can be found here.

The Cart Creek Bridge is a steel arch suspension bridge, known for its elegant and eye-catching design. It features a single 550-foot span, making it the longest single-span bridge in Utah at the time of its construction. Its beauty earned it an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Steel Construction. Unfortunately, there is no walking path on the bridge.

The bridge’s design is similar to two other bridges in Utah: the Cisco Bridge and the Moab Rim Trail Bridge. The bridge was built by the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel for USD 810,000. Using an online inflation calculator, the cost in 2023 U.S. dollars would be over $8 million. But no matter the cost, the beauty of this bridge is undeniable.

John Steiner