The world’s highest suspension bridge: Such has been a claim to fame for the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City for 80 years.
Except it’s not true, says an Arizona man with a laser range finder and a lot of time on his hands. And it hasn’t been true for seven years, he says.
Eric Sakowski has traveled the globe measuring bridges for the website he created, .
Not that he has anything against Royal Gorge. For Sakowski, 44, the bridge was a good starting point for his research. He stood on it in 2005 and pointed his range finder at the bottom. He was shocked to discover it was 955 feet to the river below — 98 feet less than had been claimed.
But more surprises awaited as he traveled the world.
The Royal Gorge’s title was taken in 2003, when the Chinese completed the Beipanjiang River Bridge, 1,200 feet high. The current highest, completed last year at 1,550 feet, spans China’s Siduhe River.
Royal Gorge Bridge spokeswoman Peggy Gair says the long-held 1,053-foot claim probably came from measuring to the top of the bridge’s towers.
“I imagine we can still call ourselves the highest suspension bridge in America, and North America, and one of the highest in the world,” she said.
Actually, Sakowski has found a bridge in Mexico that, when completed in 2012, will be 1,280 feet in the sky.
“We’ll still be the highest bridge in America, and one of the highest in the world,” Gair said.
