Rockville Bridge

When it opened in 1924, this single-lane truss over the Virgin River was a big deal: the first bridge to link Zion with the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, shaving thirty-three miles off the drive. Its moment was brief. Once the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway opened at the end of the decade, the through-tourists went that way instead. The bridge stayed on as the only way across the river for the ranches on the far side. It's the last Parker through-truss still carrying cars in Utah, restored and kept in service by a town of barely 250.

What the plaque says

Constructed in 1924, the Rockville Bridge incorporates distinctive characteristics in its method of construction and is the only surviving example of a rigid Parker through truss type bridge in the state of Utah. The Rockville Bridge is historically significant in the region as the first direct link between Zion National Park and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Between 1924 and 1928 the Rockville Bridge provided the primary automobile route from Utah's National Parks to the Grand Canyon.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Grafton Ghost Town — 1.9 mi
  A photogenic ghost town used in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Springdale — 3.0 mi
  Zion's south-entrance gateway town, wedged between the Watchman and the Virgin River
• Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel — 6.5 mi
  A mile-long tunnel blasted through Zion's sandstone in 1930, with windows cut in the cliff for light
• Canyon Overlook Trail — 6.6 mi
  A short, exposed hike just east of the tunnel to a thousand-foot view down into Zion Canyon

More markers nearby

• Discovery of Zion Canyon — 3.0 mi
• Historic Irrigation Ditch — 3.4 mi
• Birth of a Park — 4.0 mi
• Zion Mt. Carmel Tunnel and Highway — 5.5 mi