Bixby Bridge is a historic reinforced-concrete open-spandrel arch bridge on the Big Sur coast that carries State Route 1 over Bixby Creek south of Carmel. Built in 1931–1932 for the Carmel–San Simeon Highway, it eased the isolation Big Sur residents faced when winter storms blocked the inland Old Coast Road. Engineers chose a larger coastal crossing over an inland tunnel route as safer, more scenic, and less damaging to the landscape, and used concrete to better withstand salty air and blend with the surrounding rock. Completed under budget, it became both an engineering landmark and one of California’s most recognizable coastal sights.