Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
In Yellowstone Park, there’s a different Golden Gate Bridge from that famous bridge in San Francisco. This bridge spans Golden Gate Canyon along Highway 89 actually began as a wooden plank viaduct, which was truly an engineering marvel when it was originally constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers in 1885, The bridge was reconstructed four times, the last build completed in 1977.
The bridges were designed to span the canyon as the highway traversed the park. After earthquake damage, the third iteration of the bridge was replaced by a concrete deck on girders supported by concrete piers.
A great blog post featuring the history of the viaduct can be found here. Probably the most interesting note in this story is the construction and premature demise of a tunnel that never got to see public use.
A placard near the pull-off where the opening photo was taken features a short history of the bridge and its predecessors. Click on either of the images above to view them close-up in a gallery on my Flickr site.
John Steiner
Flare Legend Adventures
It is strange, but a bridge stuck to a cliff does not correspond to the vision I have of a bridge. Nice feat of enginering though.
I have seen such bridges on hiking trails, but never one that is essentially designed for modern automobile traffic as this one is.
I’m often amazed by the feats of engineering in places like this, building roads and railways where you might think it impossible!
Truly an engineering marvel that gave us this scenic route through the park, Sarah!
Very interesting to ead about the history of this bridge! It is amazing what they in those years without any of the modern technology!
Indeed, I am always amazed at the technologies that were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Remarkably inventive given the tools of the day.
Absolutely!
Thank you for introduce this historical bridge. Great image from your lens, John!
I always enjoy the architecture and design of bridges. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I didn’t know this, so that was interesting. But everything about Yellowstone is interesting, isn’t it? I also find it hard to imagine what feats it took to put roads, bridges, and even lines of fencing in many places you find them.
Indeed, I am always impressed by the road construction in our national parks, and the challenge of keeping them open in the winter (or reopening after the winter closures.)
Wonderful that the authorities go to such lengths and expense to ensure their citizens can enjoy their national park!
It is indeed.
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