Bixby Creek Bridge, Reinforced concrete arch bridge in Monterey County, California, United States
Bixby Creek Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge on California Highway 1 in Big Sur. The structure spans 218 meters and rises 79 meters above Bixby Creek, with a distinctive open arch at its center.
Construction finished in November 1932 to permanently connect the previously difficult coastal route. Engineers built the crossing during the Great Depression using locally available materials.
The bridge is named after Charles Henry Bixby (1837–1915), a businessman who worked in Big Sur for several years. Since 2020 it has appeared as the desktop wallpaper of Apple's macOS Big Sur operating system, which brought it worldwide recognition.
Parking turnouts along the highway provide space to pull over and view the crossing from different angles. The coastal road can become more challenging in fog or strong wind.
The two tall concrete buttresses flanking the arch are not needed structurally; later California arch bridges such as the Frederick W. Panhorst Bridge left them out. The bridge also appears in the default wallpapers of Apple's macOS Big Sur.
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