Page, Arizona

The 1,028-feet-long Glen Canyon Dam Bridge spans the Colorado River about 12 miles east of Grand Canyon National Park. Dedicated on February 20, 1959, it was at the time of its completion the highest arch bridge in the world (700 feet) and the second highest of any type. It is still the third highest arch bridge in North America, and the 10th highest in the world.

The town of Page, Arizona was built to accommodate the huge influx of workers that were needed to build and maintain Glen Canyon Dam. With Page located on the south side of the river, a bridge was needed to transport men and materials to the more remote north side. To construct the bridge, two cableway towers were built on either side of the canyon rim 1,540 feet apart. Sections of the bridge were lowered into place and then held back by steel tieback cables until the two sides of the arch were connected. The total cost was just 5 million dollars.

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This page was last updated on May 29, 2017.