The Bixby Creek Bridge is an open-spandrel arch bridge located in the Big Sur region in Central California. Made of reinforced concrete, the Bixby Creek Bridge is about 714 feet long and 24 feet wide. It stands as tall as 280 feet high and has a main span of 320 feet.
Construction on the Bixby Creek Bridge began on October 15, 1932 and was open for the public's use on November 27 of the same year. Prior to its construction, visitors and locals traveling to and from the Big Sur region would have to traverse rough roads over dangerous ridges and valleys. For this reason, travelers to and from Monterey and the Big Sur region are limited to the use of wagons and the entire journey between these two cities can take as long as three whole days. The construction of the Bixby Creek Bridge has allowed travelers to cut the trip tremendously since now automobiles can be used to travel to and from the Big Sur Valley.
The Bixby Creek Bridge is one of the top tourist attractions in the Central California region. The breathtaking scenery that surrounds travelers journeying up and down this bridge has made the Bixby Creek Bridge a favorite for many advertisers to use for their car commercials. The Bixby Creek Bridge was also used as part of the opening sequence for a number of television series such as Then Came Bronson and Play Misty for Me. But this is not the only reason why the Bixby Creek Bridge is popular, particularly among the locals. Legend has it that while the bridge was being constructed, a Chinese worker died during a construction accident. Instead of delaying the construction because of this incident, the body of the worker was buried inside the northern pillar of the bridge.