Otowi Suspension Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:	Otowi Suspension Bridge
Design:	Suspension bridge
Material:	Wood
Open:	1924
Extra:	Otowi Suspension Bridge Embed: yes Nrhp Type: cp Partof Refnum: 75001170 Designated Nrhp Type: December 4, 1975 Designated Other1: New Mexico Designated Other1 Date: May 9, 1997 Designated Other1 Number: 1670 Designated Other1 Num Position: bottom Coordinates: 35.8747°N -106.1414°W Architect: Lee W. Campbell Architecture: Suspension bridge Added: July 15, 1997 Area: less than one acre Refnum: 97000730 Nocat: yes

The Otowi Suspension Bridge, spanning the Rio Grande River near San Ildefonso, New Mexico, is a wooden single-lane suspension bridge for road traffic, built in 1924. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

In its 1996 NRHP nomination, it is asserted to be significant in the areas of transportation and engineering. It was important for having opened a large part of New Mexico to automobile traffic, including Bandelier National Monument, the Pajarito Plateau, the townsite of Los Alamos and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which became nationally important during World War II. It was also the only public highway suspension bridge in the state and was the best-rated bridge in the state in a 1987 survey.^{[1] [2]}

The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic when a two-lane steel through truss bridge was opened in Spring 1948 just north of it. The steel bridge, with its 290foot length, was the longest road span in New Mexico at the time. ^[3] In turn, it has since been replaced with a four-lane concrete deck bridge.

Now a pedestrian bridge, it was a contributing property in the listing of the Otowi Historic District to the National Register in 1975.^[4]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Fe County, New Mexico

Notes and References

1. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=97000730}} Otowi Suspension Bridge]. National Park Service. 2016-05-27. David Rammer . 1996. with
2. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=64500416}} Historic Highway Bridges of New Mexico ]. National Park Service. 2016-05-27. David Kammer . 1996.
3. Lyon, F. and Evans,J., editors ‘’Los Alamos: The First Forty Years’’ (Extract from Los Alamos Times, March 19, 1948), Los Alamos Historical Society, 1984, ISBN 0-941232-06-9
4. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=75001170}} Otowi HIstoric District]. National Park Service. 2016-05-27. Michael P . McCachren . July 2, 1975. with (including several of the suspension bridge)