The Hite Crossing Bridge is an

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 ...

that carries

Utah State Route 95 State Route 95 or Bicentennial Highway is a state highway located in the southeast of the U.S. state of Utah. The highway is an access road for tourism in the Lake Powell and Cedar Mesa areas, notably bisecting Bears Ears National Monument and prov ...

across the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

northwest of

Blanding, Utah Blanding () is a city in San Juan County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,375 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city in San Juan County. It was settled in the late 19th century by Mormon settlers, predominantly from the ...

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 territori ...

. The bridge informally marks the upstream limit of

Lake Powell Lake Powell is an artificial reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It is the second largest artificial reservoir by maximum ...

and the end of

Cataract Canyon Cataract Canyon is a canyon of the Colorado River located within Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Utah. It begins at Colorado's confluence with the Green River, and its downstream terminus is the ...

of the Colorado River, but when the lake is at normal water elevation, the water can back up over upstream into Cataract Canyon. The bridge is the only automobile bridge spanning the Colorado River between the Glen Canyon Bridge, downstream near the Glen Canyon Dam and the

U.S. Route 191 U.S. Route 191 (US 191) is a spur of U.S. Route 91 that has two branches. The southern branch runs for from Douglas, Arizona on the Mexican border to the southern part of Yellowstone National Park. The northern branch runs for from the north ...

bridge upstream near Moab. The bridge is near Hite Marina on Lake Powell, and a small airstrip is immediately adjacent to the north side of the bridge.

History

The Colorado River served as a major barrier to early settlers and explorers of the region. In 1880 a prospector named Cass Hite established a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

near the mouth of the

Dirty Devil River The Dirty Devil River is an tributary of the Colorado River, located in the U.S. state of Utah. It flows through southern Utah from the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek before emptying into the Colorado River at Lake Powell. Cour ...

, downstream from the present-day bridge location. This ford, named "Dandy Crossing", served as one of the few locations in the region where travelers could cross the Colorado River. The settlement that formed at the crossing location took the name of its founder, Hite. In 1946, a settler named Arthur Chaffin constructed an automobile ferry using an old car engine and a thick steel cable to hold it in place. The ferry operated for 20 years, before the rising waters of

inundated the settlement of Hite. The bridge was completed as part of the realignment of State Route 95, which was approved in 1962 due to the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell's subsequent flooding of the original roadway alignment and the original river crossing in Hite. The bridge was designed by David Sargent and was advertised for bids on June 29, 1963 at a cost of approximately US$3 million (equivalent to $ million in dollars). The bridge was dedicated on June 3, 1966.Jack Goodman,

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Unnatural Arches; Utah to Dedicate 3 Man-Made Spans In Natural Bridges Area on Friday
May 29, 1966, p. XX17

References

External links

* {{authority control Lake Powell Transportation in Garfield County, Utah Transportation in San Juan County, Utah Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Road bridges in Utah Bridges over the Colorado River Through arch bridges in the United States Steel bridges in the United States Buildings and structures in Garfield County, Utah Buildings and structures in San Juan County, Utah 1966 establishments in Utah Bridges completed in 1966