- Bidwell Bar Bridge
Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name= Bidwell Bar Bridge
caption= The new Bidwell Bar Bridge
official_name=
also_known_as=
carries= Pedestrian traffic (Original span); two lanes of SR 162 (Current span)
crosses=Lake Oroville
locale=Oroville, California
maint=
id=
design= 2Suspension bridge s
mainspan=
length= 240 ft. (73 m) (Original span); 1,108 ft. (338 m) (Current span)
width=
clearance=
below=
traffic=
open=1855 (Original span); 1967 (Current span)
closed=
toll=
map_cue=
map_
map_text=
map_width=
coordinates=coord|39|32|15|N|121|27|15|W|region:US_type:landmark (orig.) coord|39|33|00|N|121|25|50|W|region:US_type:landmark (new)The Bidwell Bar Bridge, inOroville, California , refers to twosuspension bridge s which cross different parts ofLake Oroville . The original Bidwell Bar Bridge was the first steel suspension bridge inCalifornia . The $35,000, 240-foot (73 m) long original was completed in December 1855, and was built of materials transported fromTroy, New York viaCape Horn . Most of the money was put up by a Judge Joseph Lewis, aVirginia n who moved to Bidwell's Bar in 1849. The bridge originally crossed theFeather River and is the only one of several suspension bridges built in the area in the 1850s that still remains. It remained open to vehicle traffic until 1954.Construction of the
Oroville Dam flooded the canyon where the Feather River ran as well as the town of Bidwell's Bar, and preservationists arranged for the relocation of the bridge in 1966 to the south side of the lake, where it is still open to foot traffic. Its original site is now inundated by the lake.A replacement bridge was constructed in 1967 and is 1,108 ft. (338 m) long. The bridge is built a mile and a half upstream from its original location. At the time, it was one of the highest suspension bridges in the world (627 ft. / 190 m above the original streambed), but with the creation of the lake, the bridge now sits just above the water level. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 162.
The original bridge is registered as
California Historical Landmark #314 and it has been declared a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers . TheMother Orange Tree , the first orange tree inNorthern California (purchased by Judge Lewis), is located near the California landmarkcommemorative plaque .External links
* [http://www.bridgemeister.com/bridge.php?bid=220 Bridgemeister.com entry for the new Bidwell Bar Bridge]
* [http://www.bridgemeister.com/bridge.php?bid=52 Bridgemeister.com entry for the old Bidwell Bar Bridge]
* [http://www.lakeoroville.water.ca.gov/recreate/history/ Official site]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.