Foresthill Bridge
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name=Foresthill Bridge
|image=Foresthill Bridge @ American River Confluence April 27 2008.jpg
|caption=Southern face of the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge
|official_name=
|carries=Automobile and pedestrian traffic
|crosses=North Fork American River
|locale=North Auburn,
Placer County, California
|maint=
|id=
|design=
|mainspan={{convert|862|ft}}
|length= {{convert|2,428|ft}}
|width=
|height=
|clearance=
|traffic=low
|open=1973
|closed=
|toll=
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
|coordinates = {{coord|38.9224|-121.0387|display=inline,title}}
}}
The Foresthill Bridge, also called the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge or the Auburn Bridge, is a road bridge crossing over the North Fork American River in Placer County and the Sierra Nevada foothills, in eastern California. It is the highest bridge by deck height in California, the fourth highest in the United States, and among the seventy highest in the world at 730 feet (220 m) above the river.
History
Originally constructed to replace a river-level crossing of the American River that would have been flooded by the reservoir that would have been created by the unbuilt Auburn Dam, the deck of the steel cantilever bridge stands {{convert|730|ft|m}} above the river. It was fabricated in 1971 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan, built by Willamette Western Contractors, and opened in 1973. The four-lane bridge spans the North Fork of the American River in Placer County between the city of Auburn and the town of Foresthill in the Sierra Nevada foothills.{{Structurae|id=20004661|title=Auburn-Foresthill Bridge}} Pedestrians can walk the length of the bridge in both directions. There was anti-Auburn Dam graffiti, showing protest of the planned dam, on the bridge's underside.
A seismic retrofit project began in January 2011 and was completed in 2015, with an estimated cost of $74.4 million.{{cite web|url=http://auburnjournal.com/detail/167059.html|title=Placer supes OK $65 million in Foresthill Bridge contracts|author=Auburn Journal|access-date=2011-01-08}}{{cite web|url=http://www.foresthillbridgerenewal.com/|title=Placer County:Foresthill Bridge Project|access-date=2011-04-02|archive-date=2021-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414162311/http://foresthillbridgerenewal.com/|url-status=dead}} The original bridge cost less than $13 million.
In media
The bridge can be seen in the beginning of the 2002 film XXX [http://imdb.com/title/tt0295701/trivia XXX (2002) - Trivia] in which Vin Diesel's character Xander Cage is seen driving a stolen red Chevrolet Corvette off it, then jumping from the car mid-flight and parachuting to his accomplices at the bottom of the American River Canyon.
It also appears in a montage sequence toward the end of the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth,{{cite web|url=http://auburnjournal.com/detail/119106.html|title=Foresthill Bridge shot spans scenic moment for new film|author=Auburn Journal|access-date=2010-08-21}} and has been utilized in multiple exercise equipment advertisements.
Suicides
Due to its height, the bridge is a noteworthy suicide site. {{As of |February 2024}}, there have been 102 suicides since the bridge's construction.{{cite web|url=https://goldcountrymedia.com/news/298152/monday-suicide-confirmed-at-foresthill-bridge/|author=Stacey Adams|title=Monday suicide confirmed at Foresthill Bridge |publisher=Gold Country Media|date=13 February 2024|access-date=14 February 2024}} As part of the bridge's 2011–2015 renovations, a {{Convert|6+1/2|ft|m|-tall|adj=mid}} pedestrian barrier was installed to prevent further attempts.{{cite web|url=http://www.auburnjournal.com/article/higher-foresthill-bridge-barriers-poised-installation|title=Higher Foresthill Bridge barriers poised for installation|author=Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer|access-date=2017-05-22}}
Bridge Fire (2021)
The Bridge Fire, which burned under the Foresthill Bridge, started on September 5 and burned for a total of 9 days. {{Convert|411|acre|ha}} were burned, with CAL-FIRE reporting one injury.{{cite web|url=https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/9/5/bridge-fire/|title=Bridge Fire|author=Cal Fire|access-date=2021-09-06}}
See also
- List of bridges in the United States by height
- {{Category link without namespace|Road bridges in California}}
- List of suicide locations
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|position=right}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060618201036/http://www.foothill.net/~andreaj/Bridge.htm Foothill.net: Foresthill Bridge]
- [http://www.highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=List_of_500_Highest_International_Bridges Highestbridges.com: List of 500 highest International Bridges]
- [http://www.placercountyhistoricalsociety.org/histories.htm Placer County Historical Society] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924042252/http://www.placercountyhistoricalsociety.org/histories.htm |date=2014-09-24 }}
- [https://www.flickr.com/photos/jw4pix/5455418972/ Flickr.com aerial photo]
- http://www.auburnjournal.com/article/7/16/18/2-suicide-saves-2-days-foresthill-bridge-near-auburn
Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Placer County, California
Category:Cantilever bridges in the United States
Category:Road bridges in California
Category:Steel bridges in the United States