The Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Coloradowithin Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, a 360-acre (150 ha) amusement park located along the edge of the Royal Gorge around both ends of the bridge.[9]The bridge crosses the gorge 955 feet (291 m)[note 1] above the Arkansas River[7] and held the record of highest bridge in the world from 1929 until 2001 when it was surpassed by the Liuguanghe Bridge in China.[10] The Royal Gorge Bridge maintained the title of the world's highest suspension bridge until theBeipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge was completed in 2003, also in China.[10] The bridge remains the highest bridge in the United States and was among the ten highest bridges in the world until 2012.[10]
The bridge was built in six months between June and November 1929 at a cost of $350,000.[6]