Under the Coronado Bridge
The construction of the San Diego Coronado Bridge wasn’t without its hiccups and delays. The unique circumstances of its construction included demands from the U.S. Navy, a delay of over 30 years, and some truly innovative engineering methods.
Far from posing an unsolvable problem, however, the tale of the Coronado Bay Bridge’s history sheds light on how the bridge got its characteristic height and curve.
The Hotel Del Coronado with the Coronado Bridge in the Backgroun
Delayed Beginnings
The original plans for constructing a bridge between San Diego and Coronado date back to the 1920s. At the time, the idea was suggested by John D. Spreckels, an entrepreneur and notable community figure who had a hand in the history of other San Diego landmarks like the Hotel Del Coronado and Belmont Park in Mission Beach.
The bridge’s construction was initially opposed by the U.S. Navy, who had a strong presence in Southern California at the Naval Base San Diego. The Navy argued that a bridge across the bay would be too structurally unstable to withstand earthquakes or potential attacks, and that if the bridge collapsed, it would trap Navy ships.
Pushback against the bridge’s construction was so severe that the Navy threatened to pull out of San Diego entirely, so the idea was shelved for decades. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the Coronado City Council considered the proposal again, and even when the plan was tentatively approved in the mid-1960s, there were many more hurdles to clear before construction could begin.
Pillar of the Coronado Bay Bridge
Challenges in Construction
To ensure any ships coming out of the San Diego Naval Base could pass under the bridge, the Navy supported its construction on the condition that the bridge would stand over 200 feet above the water. This would be a high enough clearance for even the largest of aircraft carriers.
Architects puzzled over how to maintain the 200-foot clearance height without making it too steep for cars to pass over safely. To achieve this, the bridge needed to be longer than the distance between each shoreline. They landed on a solution that ended up giving the Coronado Bridge its defining characteristic: a curve!
Coronado Bridge is also unique in that it has no overhead supports. Rather than constructing a suspension bridge, the plans called for 27 arch-like towers to act as supports, elevating and stabilizing the bridge.
Construction on the Coronado Bridge began in February of 1967, and it opened to traffic in August of 1969. The Coronado Bridge has been in continuous operation ever since.