Bixby Creek Bridge

Before the coastal highway was finished, Big Sur was effectively cut off every winter — the inland road impassable, the cliffs dropping straight to the Pacific. The bridge came first. Completed October 15, 1932, at a final cost of $199,861, the reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch spans 360 feet and clears the creek by 260 feet — the longest concrete arch span on the California State Highway System at completion, and the highest single-span arch bridge in the world. The highway it was built to carry didn't open for another five years.