Hite Crossing Bridge
Coordinates: 37 ° 53 ′ 28 " N , 110 ° 22 ′ 14" W.
| Hite Crossing Bridge | ||
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| Official name | Hite Crossing Bridge | |
| Convicted | Utah State Route 95 | |
| Subjugated | Colorado River , Lake Powell | |
| Entertained by | Utah Department of Transportation | |
| construction | Arch bridge | |
| overall length | 550 ft (167.64 m) | |
| height | 200 ft (according to water level) | |
| vehicles per day | Road traffic | |
| building-costs | $ 3 million | |
| start of building | June 29, 1963 | |
| opening | 3rd June 1966 | |
| construction time | 3 years | |
| planner | David Sargent | |
| location | ||
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The Hite Crossing Bridge is an arch bridge northwest of Blanding in the southeastern state of Utah in the United States . It leads Utah State Route 95 over the Colorado River and is the unofficial border between Lake Powell and Cataract Canyon , through which the Colorado River flows into Lake Powell. Depending on the water level, the lake stretches up to 30 miles (48 km) into the Cataract Canyon.
The Hite Crossing Bridge is the only navigable bridge over the Colorado River between the 185 miles (298 km) away Glen Canyon Bridge and the downstream Glen Canyon Dam and the 110 miles (180 km) upstream bridge on US Route 191 near Moab . The bridge is near Hite Marina on Lake Powell. On the north bank, behind the bridge is the "Hite Airport", a small airfield and the mouth of the Dirty Devil River .
history
The Colorado River was a major obstacle to the early settlers and explorers of the region. In 1880, gold prospector Cass Hite set up a ford near the mouth of the Dirty Devil River, about 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream from the present bridge. This ford, called the "Dandy Crossing", was one of the few places in the region where travelers could cross the Colorado River. The settlement that formed at the crossing was named after the name of its founder Hite.
In 1946, a settler named Arthur Chaffin built a car ferry based on an old car engine and a thick steel cable. It was in operation for 20 years until the lake flooded the settlement of Hite.
The bridge was built as part of State Route 95 realignment, which was approved for construction in 1962. This happened in the course of the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam , which dams Lake Powell and whose floods flooded the original roadway of the river crossing at Hite. In the invitation to tender, David Sargent's bridge design was awarded the contract on June 29, 1963 for a construction cost of around 3 million US dollars. It opened on June 3, 1966.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Belknap's Revised Waterproof Canyonlands River Guide , Westwater Books, 1991, ISBN 978-0-916370-11-4
- ^ Hite Country . Rmock.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ^ The Deseret News. - Jun 11, 1963 Google News
- ↑ Jack Goodman, New York Times , Unnatural Arches; Utah to Dedicate 3 Man-Made Spans In Natural Bridges Area on Friday , May 29, 1966, p. XX17
