The Miles Glacier Bridge, also known as the Million Dollar Bridge, was built in the early 1900s across the
Copper River Copper River may refer to several places:
*Copper River (Alaska), in the United States
* Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (afte ...
fifty miles from
Cordova in what is now the
U.S. state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. It is a multiple-span
Pennsylvania truss bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
which completed a railroad line for the
Copper River and Northwestern Railway
The Copper River and Northwestern Railway (CR&NW) consisted of two rail lines, the Copper River line and the Northwestern line. Michael James Heney had secured the right-of-way up the Copper River in 1904. He started building the railway from Co ...
, built by
J. P. Morgan and the
Guggenheim family
The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...
to haul copper from the old mining town of
Kennicott, now located within the
Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is an American national park and preserve managed by the National Park Service in south central Alaska. The park and preserve were established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conser ...
, to the port of Cordova. It earned its
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
because of its $1.4 million cost, well recouped by the about $200 million worth of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
ore which was shipped as a result of its construction.
[
Current access to the bridge is limited to jet boat travel up the Copper River or boat travel downriver from ]Chitina
Chitina (Ahtna language, Ahtna Athabascan Tsedi Na < ''tsedi'' "copper" + ''na'' "river") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Copper River Census Area, Alaska, Copper River Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 ...
due to the erosion along the Copper River Highway, and there is currently no access by road. The cost of repairs has prevented necessary maintenance albeit Miles Glacier bridge remains an attraction for tourists.
History
The Copper River and Northwestern Railway
The Copper River and Northwestern Railway (CR&NW) consisted of two rail lines, the Copper River line and the Northwestern line. Michael James Heney had secured the right-of-way up the Copper River in 1904. He started building the railway from Co ...
and associated bridges were built between 1906 and 1911 by Michael James Heney
Michael James "Moose" Heney (October 24, 1864 – October 11, 1910) was a railroad contractor, best known for his work on the first two railroads built in Alaska, the White Pass and Yukon Route and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. The son ...
. This bridge was the most significant of the group. However, its use as a railroad bridge ended in 1938 when the Copper River and Northwestern Railway shut down.
Work to convert the old rail bed into a highway bridge was completed in 1958. In the same year, a plaque was placed on the bridge:[
]
This Bridge once served the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad trains, and was converted to a Highway Bridge in 1958. The Bridge crosses the Copper River between two scenic and active glaciers. The Childs Glacier to the west and the Miles Glacier
Miles Glacier is a -long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows west to its terminus at Miles Lake, north of Katalla. It was named in 1885 after U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles
Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925 ...
to the east. Known as the Million Dollar Bridge, and constructed during severe winter conditions. It was considered one of the great engineering feats of all time.
The bridge was among many affected by the 1964 Alaska earthquake
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27. – while other bridges along the Copper River Highway from Cordova to Chitina were destroyed, the Million Dollar Bridge was "merely damaged". One of the bridge spans, #4, slipped off its foundation after the earthquake.[
The bridge was placed on the ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2000.
Features
The bridge at Mile 49 needed to span 1,500 feet of the Copper River between two glaciers on either bank. Ice calving
Ice calving, also known as glacier calving or iceberg calving, is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier.Essentials of Geology, 3rd edition, Stephen Marshak It is a form of ice ablation or ice disruption. It is the sudden release ...
from the Miles Glacier meant the bridge needed to withstand icebergs, up to 20 feet in height, moving with the 7.2 miles per hour current. Additionally, the river ranged 24 feet in height. The bed of the river was loose sand and gravel to a depth of 20 feet.[
The site was selected in 1907 and the bridge would have four spans, #1 at 400 feet, #2 at 300 feet, #3 at 450 feet and #4 at 400 feet, mounted on three piers. The piers would be placed on bars out of the way of most ice. Piers #1 and #2 required detached icebreakers. Excavation of the piers and icebreakers was accomplished through the use of ]caissons
Caisson (French for "box") may refer to:
* Caisson (Asian architecture), a spider web ceiling
* Caisson (engineering), a sealed underwater structure
* Caisson (lock gate), a gate for a dock or lock, constructed as a floating caisson
* Caisson (pe ...
. The track reached the bridge site in Oct. 1908. Actual bridge construction started on 5 April 1909 with span #1 completed in 10.5 days, span #2 in 6 days, span #3 in 10 days and span #4 was completed a month later. The bridge was in full service by July 1910.[
]
Repairs
Temporary repairs, consisting of a rudimentary system of cables, I-beams, and planks, kept the bridge passable after the 1964 earthquake. The bridge was permanently repaired starting in 2004, and the repaired bridge was dedicated in August 2005. The controversial decision was made to repair it after a severe September 1995 flood caused the bridge to be impassable and also made an eventual washout of debris onto Childs Glacier inevitable. State engineers determined that it was less expensive to repair the bridge than it would be to remove it, or (in a worst-case scenario) clean up if the bridge completely collapsed into the river. Such a cleanup would have been required due to the Copper River Copper River may refer to several places:
*Copper River (Alaska), in the United States
* Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (afte ...
salmon runs. The repairs cost $16 million in federal and $3 million in state tax dollars.
In August 2016, a large iceberg struck the icebreaker protecting the bridge’s first pier. The damaged icebreaker was moved downstream during a high water event in 2019, and offers no protection to the first pier.
See also
*
*
*
References
External links
*
1911 newspaper article about the Kenicott-Cordova line
*
{{Authority control
1911 establishments in Alaska
Bridges completed in 1911
Bridges in Unorganized Borough, Alaska
Bridges to nowhere
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Chugach Census Area, Alaska
Historic American Engineering Record in Alaska
Pennsylvania truss bridges in the United States
Railroad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska
Steel bridges in the United States