Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge
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The Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge in the
Santa Ynez Mountains The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges. The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age created ...
links
Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
with
Santa Ynez, California Santa Ynez (; Spanish for "St. Agnes") is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities of the Santa Ynez Valley. It features the Santa Ynez Airport ...
. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 154. It is currently the highest arch bridge in the U.S. state of California and among the highest bridges in the United States. At its highest point, the bridge deck is above the canyon floor. The bridge is also the largest steel arch bridge in the state. It was determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places with exceptional significance.


History

The current bridge was completed and opened to traffic in February 1964. It was constructed by U.S Steel Corp's American Bridge division and Massman Construction Co. The structure won awards for engineering, design, and beauty. It was in the top 5 longest span
arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...
s of this "supported deck" type in the world until the 1990s.
Cold Spring Tavern Cold Spring Tavern was established as a stagecoach stop in 1865. Originally known as the "Cold Spring Relay Station", it was a horse changeover and meals break station. The tavern is located 20 minutes north of Santa Barbara, California, in Cold S ...
, originally a
stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
stop, is approximately 600m south of the bridge's west base in the canyon below, on a stub of Old
San Marcos Pass San Marcos Pass (Chumash: ''Mistaxiwax'') is a mountain pass in the Santa Ynez Mountains in southern California. It is traversed by State Route 154. The pass crosses the Santa Ynez through a southwestern portion of Los Padres National Forest, a ...
Road (now named Stagecoach Rd.) connecting with SR 154 at Camino Cielo and Paradise Roads. The bridge was designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the
American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
in 1976. Seismic retrofitting was completed in 1998 by American Bridge, one of the companies involved in the original construction.


Barriers

, the bridge had been the site of 55 suicides since its completion, which is about one per year on average; however, some years have several more suicides, such as the eight deaths recorded in 2009. In an effort to prevent future incidents,
California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
installed a tall barrier in the form of an inwardly-curved, finely-gridded mesh fence in March 2012. The fence cost $3.2 million. A
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
man committed suicide from the bridge six months later in September 2012. The most recent suicide was in April 2019; Daniel Lacy was the son of actress
Julia Duffy Julia Margaret Duffy (née Hinds; June 27, 1951) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She began her career in television, appearing in minor guest roles before being cast in the role of Penny Davis in the series ''The Doctors (1963 ...
.


Gallery

File:Aerial-ColdSpringCynBridge.jpg, Aerial view of western end.
Cold Spring Tavern Cold Spring Tavern was established as a stagecoach stop in 1865. Originally known as the "Cold Spring Relay Station", it was a horse changeover and meals break station. The tavern is located 20 minutes north of Santa Barbara, California, in Cold S ...
is on Stagecoach Road beneath the bridge, just off the top of photo. File:Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge ASCE Plaque.jpg, Plaque for
American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
designated
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
, on Stagecoach Road. File:Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge (2).jpg, Cold Spring Canyon Bridge


See also

* * *
Suicide bridge A suicide bridge is a bridge used frequently by people to end their lives, most typically by jumping off and into the water or ground below. A fall from the height of a tall bridge into water may be fatal, although some people have survived jumps ...
*
Gaviota Pass The Gaviota Tunnel (officially known as the Gaviota Gorge Tunnel) is a tunnel on U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 completed in 1953 in the center of Gaviota State Park, northwest of Santa Barbara, California on the Gaviota C ...


References


External links


Cold Spring Bridge
''dot.ca.gov'', retrieved on 2007-01-31.
List of Awards
''"Highways and Roads"'' (CA DOT CalHwyIndex.pdf), pg. 28 *
"Fatal Attraction - Cold Spring Toll Hits 47"
''EdHat.com'', November 28, 2008


2008 Flickr.com: Aerial photo
* {{Santa Ynez River Road bridges in California Transportation buildings and structures in Santa Barbara County, California Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Steel bridges in the United States Santa Ynez Mountains Bridges completed in 1963 1963 establishments in California Historic American Engineering Record in California Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks