Red Cliff Bridge
Encyclopedia
Red Cliff Bridge is an arch bridge
near Vail, Colorado
that carries U.S. Highway 24 over the Eagle River
and the former Union Pacific Railroad
track over Tennessee Pass
. It is one of only two steel arch bridges within the entire state and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(reference number 85000204).
The bridge was designed by King Burghardt and built in 1940. Construction was difficult, with workers starting with a cantilever
ed design, sometimes in sub-zero (below 32°F/ 0°C) temperatures hanging over a 200 foot (61 m) drop. Burghardt wrote in his journal, "In the morning, each gang was lifted to its scaffold on a platform hung from the high line. They took their lunches with them and spent the entire day in the air with the winter wind continually blowing up the canyon." The steel erection superintendent for the project was Earl "Doc" Lay of Minneapolis Steel Company. Cliff Prince was the operator of the highline hoisting system. Off and on, Prince was a law student at the University of Utah. C.P. "Chick" Lay and Ray Walton Sr. were Ironworkers on the project from Union Local 27 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nels Neilson was the timekeeper for the job. N.P. Mettome was the Western Regional V.P. for Minneapolis Steel at the time.
Over the years, the bridge's condition deteriorated, necessitating restoration work, which was completed in November 2004 at a cost of $3.6 million, with approximately half of that coming from the Federal Highway Administration
. The bridge deck was replaced and widened and much of the steel was repainted. However, because of the bridge's historic status, care was taken to maintain the visual aesthetic. The rehabilitation effort won the 2005 National Steel Bridge Alliance Prize Bridge Award for Reconstructed Bridge.
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...
near Vail, Colorado
Vail, Colorado
The Town of Vail is a Home Rule Municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,589 in 2005. The town was established and built as the base village to Vail Ski Resort, with which it was originally conceived...
that carries U.S. Highway 24 over the Eagle River
Eagle River (Colorado)
The Eagle River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States.It rises in southeastern Eagle County, at the continental divide, and flows northwest past Gilman, Minturn, Avon...
and the former Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
track over Tennessee Pass
Tennessee Pass (Colorado)
Tennessee Pass elevation is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States.The pass traverses the continental divide north of Leadville in a gap between the northern end of the Sawatch Range to the west and the northern end of the Mosquito Range to the east...
. It is one of only two steel arch bridges within the entire state and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(reference number 85000204).
The bridge was designed by King Burghardt and built in 1940. Construction was difficult, with workers starting with a cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed design, sometimes in sub-zero (below 32°F/ 0°C) temperatures hanging over a 200 foot (61 m) drop. Burghardt wrote in his journal, "In the morning, each gang was lifted to its scaffold on a platform hung from the high line. They took their lunches with them and spent the entire day in the air with the winter wind continually blowing up the canyon." The steel erection superintendent for the project was Earl "Doc" Lay of Minneapolis Steel Company. Cliff Prince was the operator of the highline hoisting system. Off and on, Prince was a law student at the University of Utah. C.P. "Chick" Lay and Ray Walton Sr. were Ironworkers on the project from Union Local 27 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nels Neilson was the timekeeper for the job. N.P. Mettome was the Western Regional V.P. for Minneapolis Steel at the time.
Over the years, the bridge's condition deteriorated, necessitating restoration work, which was completed in November 2004 at a cost of $3.6 million, with approximately half of that coming from the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
. The bridge deck was replaced and widened and much of the steel was repainted. However, because of the bridge's historic status, care was taken to maintain the visual aesthetic. The rehabilitation effort won the 2005 National Steel Bridge Alliance Prize Bridge Award for Reconstructed Bridge.