Did You Know?

1. The bridge was originally built to address the growing need for automobile transportation across the American River.
2. More than 25,000 vehicles cross the century-old bridge daily.
3. When it was built, the bridge's concrete arch was the fourth-largest concrete arch span in the world.
4. The open-spandrel arch, with cutouts between the arch and the roadway, was a popular design in the early 1900s and made possible by strengthening concrete with reinforcing steel.
5. In 1919 it was officially known as, Rainbow Bridge was officially known as the American River Bridge at Folsom and informally called “the bridge.” In the early 1950s, a Folsom resident suggested to a Sutter Street shopkeeper that the more descriptive designation be used on postcards. The name immediately took hold, and the picturesque crossing, with its rainbow-shaped arches, has been Rainbow Bridge ever since.

Facts courtesy of the City of Folsom
Photo by Brady Nations Photography, bradynations.com, @bradynations