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36-508: The Cabrillo Bridge is one of several access routes to the cluster of museums located at the historic " El Prado Complex " (the former 1915 Panama Exposition site), which is east of the bridge in the middle of Balboa Park and continuing to a point near the Bea Evenson Fountain (and former trolley stop) just west of Park Boulevard. The east–west street atop the two-lane bridge is called "El Prado". Many people mistakenly refer to

72-404: A reversible lane in either direction in response to traffic volume. Before installation of the barrier, moveable cones were used to separate eastbound/westbound traffic. On December 7, 1981, Coronado resident Hal Willis was westbound when a drunk driver traveling eastbound at high speeds drove through the cones, hit him head-on, and caused his death. This incident began the process of implementing

108-502: A councilman might want to make use of a bridge." In 1934, a despondent sailor jumped from the bridge and splashed into the man made lagoon (Laguna de Puente) that at that time lay below. He survived, bruised but living. It was said that when the ambulance arrived, he sat at the edge of the lagoon and complained of a headache. After eight people jumped during the first six months of 1950 (and at least 50 total since its construction), city workers installed wrought iron fencing on both parapets of

144-480: A feasibility study for suicide-dissuasion options for the bridge. Hueso stated, "The safety of residents and visitors traveling on the bridge, and those who gather below it in Chicano Park, is of the utmost importance." On March 26, 2018, Caltrans released its report; it outlined suicide-dissuasion options such as netting, fencing, and glass barriers. In 1972, three years after the bridge was opened to traffic,

180-681: A lane was opened to pedestrians for the Navy Bay Bridge Run/Walk, a fundraiser sponsored by and benefiting the Navy Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program. Beginning in 2008, cyclists have the once-a-year opportunity to ride over the bridge in the Bike the Bay "fun ride". The pillars supporting the bridge on the eastern end are painted with huge murals as part of Chicano Park , the most extensive collection of Chicano art murals in

216-450: A reasonable grade, the bridge length was increased by taking a curved path rather than a more direct path to Coronado. The clearance would allow an empty oil-fired aircraft carrier to pass beneath it – it is not sufficient for Nimitz -class nuclear aircraft carriers in light load condition. The principal architect was Robert Mosher . Mosher's job was to build a bridge that would provide transportation, allow ships access to

252-493: A total construction cost of approximately $ 23.3 million. Over 250 tradespeople worked on the project. The project received the San Diego AGC award for excellence in project management and construction for heavy/highway construction in 2015. In July 1951, a small fire ignited in the easternmost span of the bridge. Redwood timbers, used as concrete forms in the original construction, smoldered for several hours. Once put out,

288-464: Is located on the floor of the canyon below. Construction of the freeway through the canyon below the bridge was completed in February 1948. However, traffic on the bridge is not visible from the freeway due to the unusual height of the bridge (120 feet /37 meters). The height is dictated entirely by the topography of the canyon. El Prado crosses the bridge at the same level as the ground on either end of

324-437: Is signed as part of State Route 75 . In 1926, John D. Spreckels recommended that a bridge be built between San Diego and Coronado , but voters dismissed the plan. The U.S. Navy initially did not support a bridge that would span San Diego Bay to connect San Diego to Coronado. They feared a bridge could collapse due to an attack or an earthquake and trap the ships stationed at Naval Base San Diego . In 1935, an officer at

360-445: Is the center part of the bridge, between piers 18 and 21 over the main shipping channel. Originally, the toll was $ 0.60 in each direction. Several years later, this was changed to a $ 1.00 toll collected for westbound traffic to Coronado only. Although the bridge was supposed to become "toll-free" once the original bridge bond was paid (which occurred in 1986), the tolls continued for sixteen additional years. On June 27, 2002, it became

396-657: The California Pacific International Exposition of 1935–36. The original architects were Bertram Goodhue and Carleton Winslow . The area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The complex incorporates the following: This is a schematic map of the Panama-California Exposition as it appeared in its second year, 1916. The El Prado Complex corresponds to El Prado,

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432-401: The caissons for the towers were drilled and blasted 100 feet into the bed of the bay. The bridge opened to traffic on August 3, 1969, during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of San Diego. The 11,179-foot-long (3,407 m or 2.1 mi) bridge ascends from Coronado at a 4.67 percent grade before curving 80 degrees toward San Diego. It is supported by 27 concrete girders,

468-516: The United States, to cross the bridge again for Balboa Park's second exposition . In 2014, the bridge was closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic to repave the road, fix sidewalks, add lights, and improve its stability during earthquakes. In June, after six months of work the planned deck renovations were completed and the bridge was re-opened for traffic. Seismic, lighting, cosmetic, and access renovations were completed in spring of 2015 with

504-413: The barrier solution. The eastern end of the bridge connects directly to a T interchange with Interstate 5 , just southeast of downtown San Diego . It is designated and signed as part of California State Highway 75. The bridge was designed entirely and exclusively for motor vehicle traffic; there are no pedestrian walkways , bike paths , or shoulders ("breakdown lanes"). Once a year, beginning in 1986,

540-408: The bay, and serve as an iconic landmark for San Diego. Mosher proposed a basic box and girder-style bridge for the framework, with a prestressed concrete and steel deck sitting atop steel girders and supported by towers. Mosher decided to make an orthotropic roadway, which used a stiffening technique that was new to the United States; it increased the strength and resistance of the bridge. As a result,

576-401: The blaze was quickly forgotten. But as Balboa Park historian Richard Amero noted, the fire was an "omen," and "nothing was done to reduce the likelihood of future fires." The "future" fire erupted before dawn on June 17, 2004. Once again, aged wooden concrete forms ignited, possibly the result of arson, inside the bridge columns. The fire was difficult to reach and extinguish. Firefighters saved

612-703: The bridge in June 1950. However, the suicides from the bridge did not really stop until the Coronado bridge was built. El Prado Complex The El Prado Complex is a historic district in Balboa Park in San Diego, California . The 13-acre (5.3 ha) complex includes 13 contributing buildings and one contributing structure. Most of the structures were built for San Diego's Panama–California Exposition of 1915–16 and were refurbished and re-used for

648-503: The bridge urging potential suicides to call a hotline. However, call boxes are not provided. After an accident in 2016, where a drunk driver drove a pickup truck off the bridge and into Chicano Park , killing 4 and injuring 9, state senator Ben Hueso proposed a state funding bill to cover safety measures on the Coronado and require reports to the state legislature on progress. In February 2017, Caltrans announced its intent to perform

684-462: The bridge was developed by Bertram Goodhue that featured three large arches. The design was to be similar to Toledo, Spain 's Alcántara Bridge . However, Frank P. Allen Jr. convinced Balboa Park commissioners to choose a cheaper design by Thomas B. Hunter of San Francisco that looked similar to other bridges in Mexico and Spain . The innovative design featured a multiple-arched cantilever structure,

720-484: The bridge was strong and eliminated the need for additional superstructures over the deck to disperse weight. Construction on the San Diego–Coronado Bay Bridge started in February 1967. The bridge required 20,000 tons of steel (13,000 tons in structural steel and 7,000 in reinforcing steel) and 94,000 cubic yards of concrete. To add the concrete girders, 900,000 cubic yards of fill were dredged, and

756-426: The bridge's 50th anniversary. As of March 2014, the working target date was 2019. Three of the bridge's columns were illuminated from November 8 to November 14, 2020, as part of a lighting field test. A decades-old local urban legend claims the center span of the bridge was engineered to float in the event of collapse, allowing Naval ships to push the debris and clear the bay. The myth may have developed due to

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792-509: The bridge, while State Route 163 passes beneath it at approximately the level of the original canyon floor. There is no direct access route between State Route 163 and Laurel Street or El Prado. The bridge was built for the Panama–California Exposition of 1915. It provided the main access across Cabrillo Canyon (formerly known as Pound Canyon, which was used to hold cattle and horses in the late 19th century). An initial design for

828-732: The bridge. In 2010, a London-based design group led by Peter Fink was chosen. The winning concept envisages illuminating the bridge with programmable LED lighting in an energy-neutral manner using electricity generated by wind turbines. In 2012, two years after choosing Fink's project, the Port of San Diego cut a check for $ 75,000 to initiate fundraising in concert with the San Diego Foundation. The Port of San Diego says no taxpayer dollars will be used. Instead, they are relying on grants and private donations to fund this lighting project, which will ideally be complete by 2019 to coincide with

864-750: The central avenue (gray), together with the buildings and plazas on either side of it. The blue area between it and the Cabrillo Bridge is the California Quadrangle , also listed on the National Register. San Diego%E2%80%93Coronado Bridge The San Diego–Coronado Bridge , commonly referred to as the Coronado Bridge , is a prestressed concrete / steel girder fixed-link bridge crossing over San Diego Bay , linking San Diego with Coronado, California . It

900-522: The first "suicide" was recorded. It was subsequently reclassified as a murder after an investigation determined that Jewell P. Hutchings, 52, of Cerritos had been forced to jump at gunpoint. Her husband, James Albert Hutchings, was subsequently charged with murder and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. In April 1997, the Port of San Diego released an international call for artists seeking qualifications of artist-led teams interested in developing environmentally-friendly lighting concept proposals for

936-647: The first such bridge in California. Building began in December 1912 under the supervision of Allen. The concrete forms were made of 1,000,000 board feet (2,400 m) of wood, mostly redwood. The length of the bridge is 916 feet (279 m) including approaches. The main span is 450 feet (140 m) long and 120 feet (37 m) high. The seven arches are each 56 feet (17 m) across and are supported by fourteen hollow concrete pillars. The bridge's construction cost reached $ 250,000 ($ 7,529,605 today). The bridge

972-469: The last toll bridge in Southern California to discontinue tolls, despite objections from some residents that traffic to the island would increase. The islands upon which the toll booths sat, as well as the canopy over the toll plaza area, are still intact, located at the western end of the bridge in the westbound lanes. Though tolls are no longer collected, beginning February 19, 2009, there

1008-626: The longest ever made at construction time. In 1970, it won an award of merit for a long-span bridge from the American Institute of Steel Construction. The five-lane bridge featured the longest continuous box girder in the world until it was surpassed by the Shibanpo Yangtze River Bridge in Chongqing, China , in 2008. The bridge is the third largest orthogonal box in the country – the box

1044-699: The murals when permission for the park was finally granted in 1973. The Coronado Bridge is frequently used as a suicide bridge ; as of July 2017, at least 407 suicide deaths by bridge jumpers have occurred on the Coronado, trailing only the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco as the bridge most-often used for suicide in the United States. Solar-powered phones were once installed on the Skyway to offer direct help for those contemplating suicide, but have since been removed. Signs have been placed on

1080-551: The naval air station at North Island argued that if a bridge were built to cross the bay then the Navy would leave San Diego. In 1951–52, the Coronado City Council initiated plans for bridge feasibility studies. By 1964 the Navy supported a bridge if there was at least 200 feet (61 m) of clearance for ships which operate out of the nearby Naval Base San Diego to pass underneath it. To achieve this clearance with

1116-418: The old wood from the original construction. In November 2013, yet another fire burned inside the hollow bridge, again while a Caltrans-funded project was being undertaken. By October 1931, 17 people had "made the leap into eternity" from the bridge, said Mayor Walter Austin. One city official, after talk of installing suicide preventative measures failed, mentioned that "after a council meeting there are times

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1152-525: The street as Laurel Street, which is a continuation of El Prado but ends at Sixth Avenue, and some refer to the bridge as the Laurel Street Bridge. Sixth Avenue forms the western boundary of Balboa Park. Laurel Street continues west from Sixth Avenue to form the southern border of San Diego International Airport , and ends at Harbor Drive on San Diego Bay . The structure is easily seen from the scenic Cabrillo Freeway (State Route 163) , which

1188-404: The structure by sawing holes in the bridge's sidewalks with jackhammers and saws to pump in foam and water. If one walks across the bridge, it is easy to sight those now repaired holes which the firefighters cut that day. The near-disaster spurred a major rehabilitation of the Cabrillo Bridge. A one-year Caltrans project repaired broken concrete, replaced corroded steel, and finally removed most of

1224-484: The world. This neighborhood park and mural display were created in response to a community uprising in 1970, which protested the adverse effects of the bridge and Interstate 5 on the Barrio Logan community. Local artist Salvador Torres proposed using the bridge and freeway pillars as a giant canvas for Chicano art at a time when urban wall murals were rare in the United States, and he and many other artists created

1260-399: Was primarily intended as a pedestrian pathway to the 1915 Exposition. It was dedicated April 12, 1914 by Franklin D. Roosevelt , then Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Roosevelt made the inaugural automobile crossing along with the mayor of the city, Charles F. O'Neill. For the next two years, auto traffic was reserved mostly for dignitaries. Roosevelt returned in 1935, this time as President of

1296-408: Was talk of resuming westbound toll collection to fund major traffic solutions and a tunnel. However nothing came of the discussions, and more recently there have been discussions of removing the unused toll plaza completely. The bridge contains five lanes: two eastbound, two westbound, and a reversible middle lane with a barrier transfer machine system installed in 1993, which can be used to create

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