Otter Creek Bridge - Grand Loop Road - Wyoming
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 44° 42.100 W 110° 30.371
12T E 539121 N 4949928
The Otter Creek Bridge in the Grand Loop Road Historic District at Yellowstone National Park.
Waymark Code: WMDCKF
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 12/25/2011
Views: 5
There has been a bridge across Otter Creek since the early days of Yellowstone. In September 1935 a new bridge was completed as part of the 1930s reconstruction to the road from Lake Junction to Canyon Junction.
The Otter Creek Bridge is an arched concrete deck girder-type bridge with concrete abutments. The arch has a span of 22.5 feet across the creek with a total structural length of 68 feet from end of wing wall to end of wing wall. The bridge deck has a width of 33 feet with guardrails of 10-inch diameter logs.
The Grand Loop Road Historic District is a 140.14 mile road system which provides the primary visitor access to the major points of interest and visitor facilities in Yellowstone National Park. The Grand Loop Road extends south from the origin point in Mammoth to Norris Junction (Segment A); travels in a westerly direction to Madison Junction (Segment B); extends south to Old Faithful (Segment C); the turns east to West Thumb (Segment D); roughly follows the lakeshore north to Fishing Bridge (Segment E); then northwesterly to Canyon Junction (Segment F); northeast from Canyon to Tower (Segment G); then turns west towards Mammoth (Segment H) returning to the origin point; a center section connects Norris Junction and Canyon Junction (Section I).
The current alignment of the Grand Loop Road grew from early wagon trails that followed river valleys and lakeshores. During the first 30 years of development, the road was in constant change, but by 1905 the interior road system connecting natural attractions, hotels, and entrance roads had stabilized into the present figure-eight configuration known as the Grand Loop Road. Having been built over many decades with many different standards, techniques, materials, and under many administrators, the Grand Loop Road retains basically the same configuration as it was first built, although some small sections have been abandoned or transformed into scenic roads.
Above information comes from the Historic District Registration Form on the NPS website: (
visit link)
Just upstream of the bridge in the creek channel are steel remnants of earlier bridge or remnants of the construction of this bridge.