Yosemite Valley Bridges

Eight road bridges cross the Merced River and two creeks on the floor of Yosemite Valley. Built between 1921 and 1933, with five completed in 1928, they are reinforced concrete arches veneered in rough, rock-faced native granite, with finely cut voussoirs and keystones. They share a basic design but differ in length, width and layout. The Ahwahnee Bridge has three arches, the Sugar Pine Bridge has the longest single span, and the Clark, Happy Isles and Stoneman bridges include equestrian tunnels through their abutments. Yosemite Creek Bridge, from 1922, is the oldest. National Park Service landscape architects designed them during a road-building program that began in the early 1920s, aiming to meet highway standards while intruding as little as possible on the scenery. Concrete vaults were masked with stone walls and filled with earth, giving a traditional masonry appearance. The granite boulders echo the valley's cliffs, and the bridges are cited as a strong example of rustic architecture applied to engineering.