Red Cliff's iconic bridge connects Colorado's past to its future

Bridges do more than connect roads. In Colorado, some connect us to the past. That's especially true in Red Cliff, where the iconic steel arch bridge has become a symbol of the small mountain town.

The bridge was built between 1939 and 1941 as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's economic recovery efforts during the Great Depression. It was designed to make travel through the mountains safer, cutting about two miles of narrow roads and dangerous blind curves through Red Cliff.

"It's quite the engineering accomplishment," said Kathy Heicher, president of the Eagle County Historical Society. "And it still holds up."

At the time, Highway 24 was a major route connecting Colorado's Front Range to the mountains and Western Slope. For small mountain towns, having a major highway run through them could mean survival.

"If you could get the major highway to go to your town, you were going to survive," Heicher said. "If not, you know, you're toast."

Today, the bridge is one of the first things people see when approaching Red Cliff.

"It never fails to be breathtaking when you catch that first glimpse of that arch bridge," Heicher said. "You absolutely know you're in Red Cliff if you see that bridge." Plus, if you're cool, you know that locals have their own name for it.

Most people call it the Green Bridge or Red Cliff Bridge; locals call it the Silver Bridge because that was its original color before it was painted green. That's an insider scoop from Red Cliff Town Manager Melissa Matthews, who has lived there for 15 years. "It's just breathtaking," she said. "I pull over a few times a year and take a picture."

The bridge has become part of the community's identity. Artists and photographers regularly capture it, and Heicher says there are even gravestones in local cemeteries with images of the bridge etched into them. Generations of Red Cliff residents have made memories there, too. Heicher says local kids once used the bridge structure as a jungle gym, while old photographs show women posing on top of the bridge in 1950s bathing suits.

Now, the bridge is aging. But instead of replacing it, the town is working to preserve it. Matthews says restoration work is expected in the next few years. She says replacing the bridge would likely be cheaper, but the community wants to keep the historic structure intact. 

"I think it would be heartbreaking," Matthews said. "It's a part of what Red Cliff is and who Red Cliff is."

And as Colorado celebrates 150 years, that history is worth preserving.

"I believe it's a piece of history," Heicher said. "I believe it's a piece of art. And it's a piece of Red Cliff."

Speaking of preserving parts of Red Cliff, you can check out our story on the fundraiser to help save the historic town hall.