Miles Glacier Bridge

Miles Glacier Bridge
Miles Glacier Bridge
	Miles Glacier Bridge in 2008. The far left span as seen in this photo shows the repairs performed in 2004.
Coordinates	60°40′22″N 144°44′45″W / 60.6729°N 144.7458°W
Carries	road bridge
Crosses	Copper River
Locale	Cordova, Alaska
Characteristics
Design	through Pennsylvania (Petit) truss bridge
Material	Steel and concrete
Total length	1,550 feet (470 m)
No. of spans	4
Piers in water	3
History
Construction start	1909
Construction end	1910
	Million Dollar Bridge
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
	Damage done by the earthquake, with the temporary fixes performed to make the bridge usable
Location	Mile 48 of Copper River Highway, about 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Cordova
Coordinates	60°40′23″N 144°44′45″W / 60.6731°N 144.74583°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1910
Built by	Katalla Corporation; Carnegie Steel Company; American Bridge Company
Architect	A.C. O'Neel; Erastus Corning Hawkins;
NRHP reference No.	00000293
AHRS No.	COR-00005
Added to NRHP	March 31, 2000
Location

The Miles Glacier Bridge, also known as the Million Dollar Bridge, was built in the early 1900s across the Copper River fifty miles from Cordova in what is now the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a multiple-span Pennsylvania truss bridge which completed a 196-mile (315 km) railroad line for the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, built by J. P. Morgan and the Guggenheim family to haul copper from the old mining town of Kennicott, now located within the Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, to the port of Cordova. It earned its nickname because of its $1.4 million cost, well recouped by the about $200 million worth of copper ore which was shipped as a result of its construction.^[4]^: 175

Current access to the bridge is limited to jet boat travel up the Copper River or boat travel downriver from Chitina due to the erosion along the Copper River Highway,^[5] and there is currently no access by road. The cost of repairs has prevented necessary maintenance albeit Miles Glacier bridge remains an attraction for tourists.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Million Dollar Bridge at Structurae
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Faulkner, Sandra M. (July 23, 1986). "Copper River & Northwest Railroad, Million Dollar Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ Cite error: The named reference Quinn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Million Dollar Bridge in danger". 11 November 2016.

[structurae-1] Million Dollar Bridge at Structurae

[HAER-2] Faulkner, Sandra M. (July 23, 1986). "Copper River & Northwest Railroad, Million Dollar Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved January 8, 2022.

[nris-3] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[Quinn-4] Cite error: The named reference Quinn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] "Million Dollar Bridge in danger". 11 November 2016.

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