Bixby Creek Arch Bridge

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Bixby Creek Arch Bridge
A view of the Bixby Creek Bridge from its northern end, looking SSE
Carries	Cabrillo Highway
Crosses	Bixby Creek
Locale	Big Sur
Design	reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge
Longest span	320 feet (98 m)
Total length	714 feet (218 m)
Width	24 feet (7 m)
Clearance below	79.2 meters (260 feet)
Beginning date of construction	1931
Completion date	1933
Opening date	1933
Coordinates	36°22′16.90″N 121°54′6.05″W / 36.3713611, -121.9016806 (Bixby Creek Arch Bridge)Coordinates: 36°22′16.90″N 121°54′6.05″W / 36.3713611, -121.9016806 (Bixby Creek Arch Bridge)

Viewed from the other side of Cabrillo Highway

Bixby Creek Bridge is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge in Big Sur, California, 120 miles south of San Francisco along Cabrillo Highway (SR 1). It is 714 feet long, 24 feet wide and has a main span of 320 feet. It is one of the most photographed bridges in the world because of its location along the beautiful central California coast, and has frequently been used in automobile commercials. It was also featured in the opening sequence of the television series "Then Came Bronson" in the late 1960s.

Bixby Creek Bridge is important historically because it introduced automobile travel to Big Sur, connecting the remote coastal towns to each other. Before the bridge was completed by Ward Engineering Company in 1932, coastal travelers endured rough wagon roads over precipitous ridges and valleys. The 30 mile journey from Monterey to the Big Sur River valley could take three days round trip. The design engineer for the Bridge was Norman Raab, who also designed the Donner Summit Bridge (a concrete arch bridge near Truckee, CA).

The bridge was retrofitted in 1997 as part of the Caltrans Phase II seismic retrofit program. The retrofit solidifies the bridge's structural and landmark status for the next generation of Californians.