The unbuilt dam that created California’s tallest bridge

[WB Staff]

AUBURN, Calif. (KTXL) — On Labor Day 1973, the Foresthill Bridge opened to the public. At an astounding height of 730 feet, it was the second-highest bridge in the world at the time and the highest in the state of California.

The bridge outside of Auburn still holds the record as the state’s highest bridge by deck height and is the third-highest bridge in the country, according to National Geographic.

The bridge towers over Sacramento’s 423-ft. Wells Fargo Center, the tallest building in the city, and provides some of the most breathtaking views of the foothills and the Sierra Nevada.

The Foresthill Bridge spans 2,428 feet across a canyon carved by the North Fork of the American River. It cost the Bureau of Reclamation $13 million to build, the equivalent of $86,747,477 if paid for today.

However, the bridge was made in preparation for an even bigger project that never came to be: the Auburn Dam and subsequent Auburn Lake.

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