Coordinates: 37°53′28″N 110°22′14″W

Hite Crossing Bridge

The Hite Crossing Bridge is an arch bridge that carries Utah State Route 95
Hite Crossing Bridge
across the Colorado River northwest of Blanding, Utah, United States. The
bridge informally marks the upstream limit of Lake Powell and the end of
Cataract Canyon of the Colorado River, but when the lake is at normal water
elevation, the water can back up over 30 miles (48 km) upstream into
Cataract Canyon.[1] The bridge is the only automobile bridge spanning the
Colorado River between the Glen Canyon Bridge, 185 miles (298 km)
downstream near the Glen Canyon Dam and the U.S. Route 191 bridge 110
Coordinates 37°53′28″N 110°22′14″W
miles (180 km) upstream near Moab. The bridge is near Hite Marina on
Lake Powell, and a small airstrip is immediately adjacent to the north side of Carries SR-95
the bridge. Crosses Colorado River / Lake
Powell
History Locale Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area,
The Colorado River served as a major barrier to early settlers and explorers
Garfield / San Juan
of the region. In 1880 a prospector named Cass Hite established a ford near
counties, Utah, USA
the mouth of the Dirty Devil River, 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream from the
present-day bridge location. This ford, named "Dandy Crossing", served as
Maintained Utah Department of
one of the few locations in the region where travelers could cross the
by Transportation
Colorado River. The settlement that formed at the crossing location took the Characteristics
name of its founder, Hite. In 1946, a settler named Arthur Chaffin Design Arch
constructed an automobile ferry using an old car engine and a thick steel
Width 2 lanes
cable to hold it in place. The ferry operated for 20 years, before the rising
Clearance Approximately 200 ft (61 m)
waters of Lake Powell inundated the settlement of Hite.[2]
below (varies by lake level)
The bridge was completed as part of the realignment of State Route 95, History
which was approved in 1962 due to the construction of Glen Canyon Dam
Opened June 3, 1966
and Lake Powell's subsequent flooding of the original roadway alignment
and the original river crossing in Hite. The bridge was designed by David
Sargent and was advertised for bids on June 29, 1963 at a cost of
approximately US$3 million.[3] The bridge was dedicated on June 3,
1966.[4]

References
1. Belknap's Revised Waterproof CanyonlandsRiver Guide,
Westwater Books, 1991,ISBN 978-0-916370-11-4
2. "Hite Country" (http://www.rmock.com/trips/utah/hite.htm).
Rmock.com. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
3. The Deseret News. - Jun 11, 1963Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rUQOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1
n8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5630,2161670&hl=en)
4. Jack Goodman, New York Times, Unnatural Arches; Utah to Dedicate 3 Man-Made Spans In Natural Bridges Area
on Friday (https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/29/archives/unnatural-arches-utah-to-dedicate-3-manmade-spans-in-na
tural.html), May 29, 1966, p. XX17
External links
Media related to Hite Crossing Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

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