4218 County Road 3A
P.O. Box 549
Canon City, CO 81212
888-333-5597 | 719-275-7507
Hanging 1,053 feet above Colorado’s wild Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge is the world's highest suspension bridge and a legendary feat of engineering renowned the world over. Built in 1929 for $350,000, the cost today would easily exceed $15 million. But for those who venture across it, whether walking or driving, the experience is priceless.
Engineering Facts
- Construction on the world's highest suspension bridge began June 5, 1929, and completed Nov. 1929
- Length: 1,260 feet (384 meters)
- Width: 18 feet (5 meters)
- Main Span: 880 feet (268 meters)
- Towers: 150 feet high (46 meters)
- 2,100 strands of No. 9 galvanized wire
- Weight of cables: 300 tons
- 1,000 tons of steel in the floor of Bridge
- Walkway: made of 1,292 planks of deck; about 250 are replaced annually
- Original cost to build: $350,000 – cost today about $15 million
- Bridge will support in excess of two million pounds
- Listed on the National Historic Register
