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Highway bridge on the Big Sur Coast of California

Bixby Bridge, also known as Bixby Creek Bridge, on the Big Sur coast of California, is one of the most photographed bridges in California due to its aesthetic design, "graceful architecture and magnificent setting". It is a reinforced concrete open spandrel arch bridge. The bridge is 120 mile (193 km) south of San Francisco and 13 mile (21 km) south of Carmel in Monterey County on State Route 1. Before the opening of the bridge in 1932, residents of the Big Sur area were virtually cut off during winter due to blockages on the often impassable Old Coast Road, which led 11 mile (18 km) inland. The bridge was built under budget for $199,861 (equivalent to $ in dollars) and, at 360 feet (110 m), and it remains one of the tallest. The land north and south of the bridge was privately owned until 1988 and 2001. A logging company obtained approval to harvest redwood on the former Bixby Ranch to the north in 1986, and in 2000 a developer obtained approval to subdivide the former Brazil Ranch to the south. Local residents and conservationists fought their plans, and both pieces of land were eventually acquired by local and federal government agencies. A $20 million seismic retrofit was completed in 1996, although its 24 feet (7 m) width does not meet modern standards requiring bridges to be 32 feet (10 m) wide.

The bridge is "one of the most photographed features on the West Coast" and in the world. It has been featured on "postcards, TV ads, everywhere," according to Debra Geiler, project manager for the Trust for Public Land. The bridge's location on the scenic Central Coast of California, the parabolic shape of the arch, the tall spandrel columns, and the architectural piers contribute to an "intense aesthetic experience." "It's the gateway to Big Sur and the interior has never been logged. The land is pristine." Zad Leavy, former executive director of the Big Sur Land Trust, described the land as " the most spectacular meeting of ocean and land in the entire United States."

The bridge is 714 feet (218 m) in total length and 24 feet (7 m) wide, with 260 feet (79 m) of clearance below, and has a main span of 360 feet (110 m), which places 50% of the total roadbed above the arch. The arch ribs are five feet thick at the deck and nine feet thick at the springing line, where they join the towers at their base. The arches are four and one half feet wide. The bridge was designed to support more than six times its intended load. The Rocky Creek Bridge and the Malpaso Creek Bridge to the north are also open spandrel arch bridges built of reinforced concrete.

The state first began building Route 56, or the Carmel–San Simeon Highway, in 1919. A number of bridges needed to be constructed, the largest among them across Bixby Creek. They chose concrete in part because it would not only reduce both construction and maintenance costs but would also echo the color and composition of the natural rock cliff formations in the area.

Over 300,000 board feet (700 m3) of Douglas fir timber, used to build a 250 foot (76 m) high falsework to support the arch during construction, was transported from the railroad terminal in Monterey over the narrow, one way road to the bridge site. The falsework, built by crews led by E. C. Panton, the general superintendent, and I. O. Jahlstrom, resident engineer of Ward Engineering Co., was difficult to raise, because it was constantly exposed to high winds. Some of the falsework timbers were It took two months to construct the falsework alone. When high waves threatened the falsework foundation, construction was halted for a short time until winter storms abated. Sand and gravel were supplied from a plant in Big Sur. Construction required 45,000 sacks or of cement Crews began placing concrete on November 27. The concrete was transported across the canyon on platforms using slings suspended from a cable 300 feet (91 m) above the creek. The completion of construction was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Dr. John L. D. Roberts, who had conceived of the need for the road.

After the bridge was completed, it was at times known as the Rainbow Bridge, due to the presence of the Rainbow Lodge resort on the creek upstream from the bridge. It was operated by former Army Captain Howard Sharpe and his wife, Frida. After timber harvesting was no longer profitable, Sharpe bought the Bixby Creek Canyon ranch in 1919. He built a dirt road from the lodge up the canyon to Bixby Landing on the point northwest of the canyon mouth, and another road down to the beach at the mouth of Bixby Creek. He sold part of his land to the state as part of the bridge right of way in 1930.

The bridge was retrofitted beginning in 1996 with an analysis by bridge engineering company Buckland & Taylor as part of the Caltrans Phase II seismic retrofit program. In their detailed evaluation of the bridge's seismic vulnerabilities, they were challenged to find a solution that met several difficult issues, including severe load factors, extremely limited physical access, maintaining the appearance of the existing historical structure, and a requirement by the State of California that at least one lane of the bridge remain open at all times. The crux of the design was the longitudinal post tensioning of the entire bridge deck from end to end. The $20 million seismic retrofit began in May 1998. The cost of the retrofit was considerably increased by the requirement to preserve the historical look of the bridge. In addition to the reinforced edge beam, four large prestressing tendons were installed the length of the bridge along the underside of the deck slab. These tendons are stressed to pre compress the concrete deck to approximately 800 psi and also serve as flexural reinforcement along with the high strength rods. Finally, engineers found a way to reinforce the bent columns attached to the arch, which possess complex and varying geometric challenges. They encased the bent columns with thin, lightweight, composite carbon fiber jackets that provide the necessary degree of confinement to ensure ductile response and also mimic the original design. As a result of the retrofit, the continuous, stiffened deck has four lateral reaction points: two new massive abutments anchored by large diameter, cast in drilled hole piles. The two towers are strengthened and anchored to rock with tie down anchors within the towers. The arch ribs are laterally supported at their crowns by new shear keys that link them to the reinforced deck. The expensive retrofit, completed in November 2000, still left the bridge officially classified as "functionally obsolete" because at 24 feet (7 m) in width, the bridge is less than the 32 feet (10 m) standard required of newly built bridges. Governor Juan Alvarado granted the land from present day Carmel south to Palo Colorado Canyon, two miles north of Bixby Creek, to Marcelino Escobar in 1839 as part of the Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito. The land was later acquired by Alvarado's brother in law José Castro. Castro noted the existence of on a Native American trail from Monterey to Palo Colorado Canyon in 1853, when he filed a map of his grant. and later bought additional tracts of land on the north side of the creek, between it and Palo Colorado Canyon. Bixby built a sawmill with a capacity of twelve thousand feet of lumber per day on the creek, which was then known as Mill Creek. He harvested timber and turned it into shakes, shingles, railroad ties, and trench posts. He also harvested the bark of the tanbark oak, which was used for tanning cow hides. Bixby discovered lime deposits on Long Ridge above Mill Creek. He had kilns built and used mules to haul the lime to the coast on wooden sleds.

It was impossible to build a wharf from the cliffs that dropped into the ocean. To transport the tanbark and lime to Monterey and San Francisco, Bixby built a doghole port consisting of a hoist and chute that could be used to ferry goods to and from ships anchored slightly offshore. The powdered lime was packed into barrels that were then attached to cable strung from the coastal cliff. The cargo was hoisted in slings from the landing along a cable winched about 50 yards out into the Pacific Ocean, where it was loaded aboard coastal schooners. The schooners were moored to deadeyes embedded in rocks of the adjacent shore. He sold the fired lime for use in cement, mortar, and other building materials. Near Malpaso Creek, the creek has very steep side slopes and the crossing was a ford only above sea level until the Malpaso Creek Bridge was built in 1935 as part the Big Sur Coast Highway. Sometime later Bixby partnered with William B. Post and extended what became known as the Old Coast Road south to his ranch. At Bixby Creek, the road was necessarily built 11 mile (18 km) inland to circumvent the deep canyon. It also went inland to circumvent the Little Sur River. It then led to the Post Ranch on the Rancho El Sur near present day Andrew Molera State Park. The 30 mile (48 km) trip from Carmel could take three days by wagon or stagecoach. The single lane road was closed in winter when it became impassable. Coast residents received supplies via a schooner from Monterey and San Francisco that off loaded supplies that could not be transported overland near Big Sur once a year.

In 1986 a portion of the land formerly owned by Bixby was held by Humboldt County based Philo Lumber Company. They obtained a state permit to log over a million board feet of redwood. The residents of Palo Colorado Canyon were intensely opposed to the plan, but it was only derailed by the savings and loan crisis. The property was seized by federal financial regulators and was later sold to the Big Sur Land Trust for $1.2 million dollars in September 1987. The Trust agreed to hold the land for the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District until the district could secure funding through Proposition 70 or other means. The Trust's purchase was made possible only through a "bridge" loan made by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Big Sur Trust board member Nancy Hopkins was a daughter in law of Hewlett Packard founder David Packard and was the trust's first president. The Trust sold the land to the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District in 1988. The district joined it with three adjacent properties to form the Mill Creek Redwood Preserve. On October 2, 2019, the California Natural Resources Agency announced it was seeking funding through Proposition 68, a bond measure approved by voters in 2018, to obtain the land for the Esselen tribe. The Adler family agreed to sell of the Adler Ranch. In late July 2020 the purchase of the Adler Ranch successfully closed. The land was purchased through a $4.52 million grant from the California Natural Resources Agency and the property was transferred to the Esselen tribe.

A post office was established near the sawmill in the early 1880s and was then moved west to the mouth of the canyon. Thomas Fussell bought the land and then sold it to Horace Hogues. In 1919, Captain Howard G. and Frida Sharpe bought the Bixby Creek canyon property. Remnants of its prior use included an old ranch house, barn, corral, dance hall, stable, numerous out buildings, and several cabins that they rented to visitors. Sharpe built a dirt road from the lodge up the canyon to Bixby Landing and another road down to the beach at the mouth of Bixby Creek. When the bridge was completed, the lodge on Bixby Creek was no longer on the route used by tourists. In 1931 Sharpe built a new stone Rainbow Lodge on the western shoulder of the highway immediately north of the bridge. The former lodge in the canyon bottom was abandoned. In 1938, Sharpe re discovered a colony of California sea otters, thought to be extinct. More tourists came to see the sea otters and Sharpe added cabins and renamed it the Bixby Inn. A fire in 1941 burned what was left of the ranch on the canyon floor, and the Sharpes subdivided the property and sold parcels.

The bridge was already popular before the introduction of smart phones and social media, and visitors to the Bixby Bridge and other Big Sur attractions have dramatically increased since then. Due to the large number of visitors, congestion and slow traffic between Carmel and the bridge is frequently the norm during popular holiday and vacation periods. The bridge was rated as the No. 1 “Instagram Worthy Destination for 2019 Travels” by the website Travelpulse. com. The California state tourism commission describes the bridge as "a must see road trip spot for many and probably the most Instagrammed features along [the] Highway 1 coastline." It promotes the bridge world wide, including a deal with China's online tourism operator Tuniu that put the bridge on a custom route. There are no toilets within several miles of the bridge, and visitors resort to defecating in nearby bushes. Residents complain about toilet paper, human waste, and trash littering the roadside. On December 29, 2018, two dozen residents and business leaders turned out with signs alongside the northern approach to the bridge to launch a campaign they've named The Big Sur Pledge, encouraging visitors to treat the region with more respect.

The bridge was commemorated in an express mail stamp issued on February 3, 2010. The United States Postal Service introduced an $18.30 definitive stamp designed by Carl T. Herrman of North Las Vegas, Nevada. The stamp features a color digital illustration of Bixby Bridge by Dan Cosgrove of Clarendon Hills, Illinois.

The Bixby Bridge features prominently in the main icon for Apple's Big Sur operating system. It also appears in the "Big Sur Day," "Big Sur Night," and "Big Sur Aerial" built in desktop pictures.

The bridge was featured in the opening scene of the 1969 70 television series Then Came Bronson, in the films Play Misty for Me, Escape To Witch Mountain and The Sandpiper, and in numerous auto commercials. The bridge is also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto V.

The American alternative rock band Death Cab for Cutie’s 2008 album Narrow Stairs opens with the song “Bixby Canyon Bridge”, written by the band’s founder Ben Gibbard.

Individuals have been known to BASE jump off the bridge. Monterey County Sheriff Steve Bernal told the media that while it is technically legal to jump off the bridge, jumpers land on private property, constituting trespassing. It is also easy to commit traffic violations while on the bridge. Jester was found guilty of threatening violence against a peace officer, driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of marijuana and disobeying a peace officer order. He could have been sentenced to three years in jail, but the judge gave him probation and required him to enter an alcohol rehab program. Kajala was known as one of the world's leaders in BASE jumping and instructed individuals around the world. Kajala's body was found more than two weeks later. Connell's body was never recovered.