The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, locally known as the "Gorge Bridge" or the "High Bridge", is a steel

deck 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 ( ...

across the

Rio Grande Gorge The Rio Grande Gorge is a geological feature in northern New Mexico where the watercourse of the Rio Grande follows a tectonic chasm. Beginning near the Colorado border, the approximately gorge runs from northwest to southwest of Taos, New Mexico ...

northwest of

Taos, New Mexico Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Cha ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Roughly 600 ft above the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

, it is the tenth highest bridge in the United States.

Construction

The bridge was started in 1963 and completed in 1965. It was dedicated on September 10, 1965 and is a part of

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

, a major east–west road. The span is : two approach spans with a main center span.

Awards

In 1966 the

American Institute of Steel Construction The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an or ...

awarded the bridge "Most Beautiful Steel Bridge" in the "Long Span" category.

Restoration

A $2.4 million "facelift" to the bridge was completed in September 2012. This year-long project included repair and restoration work to the 50-year-old bridge including structural steelwork, a new concrete deck surface, new sidewalks, ramps, curbs, and gutters.

Suicide problem

The bridge has been the site of numerous

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

s. Authorities are studying ways to deter suicides, including the construction of

suicide barrier A suicide barrier is a structure intended to deter people from attempting suicide by deliberately jumping from a high place on a structure. Suicide barriers often consist of nets, metal screening, and fencing. Suicide barriers may be placed on tall ...

s, such as higher fencing, netting, or more security, and also hotline buttons, but cite money as a major reason no steps have been taken.

Bridge height discrepancy

Although one of the highest bridges in the US, exactly how high the main span is above ground still remains up in the air. When it 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 1967, this distance was cited as 650’ over the

. And today that number is still widely used. In 2010 however, the Highest Bridges Web Site came out with a substantially lower (565’) figure. This height was most likely derived using a laser range finder but the site did not specifically reference it that way. Wikipedia used this 565’ figure in 2012 when updating its

List of bridges in the United States by height This is a list of the highest bridges in the United States by height over land or water. ''Height'' in this list refers to the distance from the bridge deck to the lowest point on the land, or the water surface, directly below. A bridge's deck he ...

, but kept the 650’ (200 meter) figure for the bridge in its Rio Grande del Norte National Monument article. And then in 2015, a height of 600’ appeared on the scene. An author of a bridge book noted this discrepancy and recommended this compromise number be used until the matter was authoritatively resolved. This 600’ figure then cropped up in a January 2016 Materials Performance Magazine white paper about the bridge's then just completed inspection by the

New Mexico Department of Transportation The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT; es, Departamento de Transporte de Nuevo México) is a state government organization which oversees transportation in New Mexico, State of New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The agency ...

In popular culture

The bridge has appeared in several films, including ''

Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American crime film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childho ...

'', ''

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

'', '' White Sands'', ''

She's Having a Baby ''She's Having a Baby'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed and written by John Hughes and starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. It tells the story of a young newlywed couple who try to cope with married life and their parents ...

'', '' The Signal'', ''

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

'', ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

'', ''

Wild Hogs ''Wild Hogs'' is a 2007 American biker road comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007. It was the las ...

'', and ''

Terminator Salvation ''Terminator Salvation'' is a 2009 American military science fiction action film directed by McG and written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris. It is the fourth installment of the ''Terminator'' franchise and serves as a sequel to '' Termin ...

''.

Gallery

File:Rio Grande Gorge bridge, 1970.jpg, File:Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Plaques.jpg, File:Rio grande gorge rainbow.JPG, File:Crisis hotline communication pillar at Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.jpg, File:Rio Grande Gorge 2.jpg, View from bridge, 2017 File:2021 Rio Grande Gorge near Taos, New Mexico.jpg, 2021 panorama view

References

External links

* {{Registered Historic Places Bridges completed in 1965 Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Taos County, New Mexico Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Transportation in Taos County, New Mexico Tourist attractions in Taos County, New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Taos County, New Mexico Bridges over the Rio Grande Steel bridges in the United States Truss bridges in the United States 1965 establishments in New Mexico

Construction

Awards

Restoration

Suicide problem

Bridge height discrepancy

In popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

External links