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24-590: Current access to the bridge is limited to jet boat travel up the Copper River or boat travel downriver from Chitina due to the erosion along the Copper River Highway , and there is currently no access by road. The cost of repairs has prevented necessary maintenance albeit Miles Glacier bridge remains an attraction for tourists. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway and associated bridges were built between 1906 and 1911 by Michael James Heney . This bridge

48-531: A danger to boaters, especially near the mouths of clear tributaries, where the bears tend to congregate. A variety of salmon , attractive to bears, migrate to and from these tributaries. The most important tributaries of the Chitina are from the north and emanate principally from the south slope of the Wrangell Mountains; in order downstream they are Nizina , Lakina , Gilahina , and Kuskulana rivers. From

72-471: A household in the CDP was $ 26,000, and the median income for a family was $ 28,750. Males had a median income of $ 31,250 versus $ 17,500 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $ 10,835. There were 3.3% of families and 12.7% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 15.4% of those over 64. Athabascans have lived in the area around Chitina for centuries as evidenced by

96-544: A large number of salmon during their spawning runs and Chitina is an accessible and popular place for this activity. In late 1977, jeweler Art Koeninger purchased the Chitina Tin Shop with the intention of turning it into a residence. In 1979, the site, formerly known as Fred's Place and Schaupp's, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and has won two historic preservation grants. It currently houses

120-434: A thriving community by 1914. It had a general store, a clothing store, a meat market, stables, a tinsmith, five hotels, several rooming houses, a pool hall, bars, restaurants, dance halls and a movie theater. From 1933 until the closure of the mines in 1938, the general store was managed by Otto Moses of Des Moines, Washington, recruited by O.A. Nelson. The mines closed in 1938 and the remaining support activities moved to what

144-545: Is land and 11.1 square miles (29 km ) of it (11.62%) is water. Chitina has a continental subarctic climate ( Köppen Dfc). Chitina first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It was made a census-designated place (CDP) in 1980. As of the census of 2000, there were 123 people, 52 households, and 30 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1.5 inhabitants per square mile (0.58/km ). There were 54 housing units at an average density of 0.6 per square mile (0.23/km ). The racial makeup of

168-673: Is located on the west bank of the Copper River at its confluence with the Chitina River on the Edgerton Highway , and junction with the McCarthy Road. It is 85 km (53 mi) southeast of Copper Center and 106 km (66 mi) southeast of Glennallen . It is outside the western boundary of the Wrangell - St Elias National Park and Preserve . In 1945, work had begun to convert

192-574: Is now the Glennallen area. Chitina became a virtual ghost town. Otto Adrian Nelson, a surveying engineer for the Kennecott Mines, eventually bought up much of the town. He built a unique hydroelectric system that supplied electric power to all his buildings. He also supplied much of the town center with hot and cold running water. Current activity in Chitina revolves around the dipnet fishing for salmon that occurs every summer. Alaskans are allowed to dip

216-637: The Spirit Mountain Artworks . Chitina River The Chitina River ( Ahtna Athabascan Tsedi Na’ [tʃɛ.diː.näʔ] < tsedi " copper " + na’ " river ") is a 274 km (170 mi) tributary of the Copper River in the U.S. state of Alaska . It begins in the Saint Elias Mountains at the base of Chitina Glacier and flows generally northwest through the Wrangell–;St. Elias National Park and Preserve to meet

240-442: The 7.2 miles per hour current. Additionally, the river ranged 24 feet in height. The bed of the river was loose sand and gravel to a depth of 20 feet. The site was selected in 1907 and the bridge would have four spans, #1 at 400 feet, #2 at 300 feet, #3 at 450 feet and #4 at 400 feet, mounted on three piers. The piers would be placed on bars out of the way of most ice. Piers #1 and #2 required detached icebreakers. Excavation of

264-405: The CDP was 51.22% White , 33.33% Alaskan Native , and 15.45% from two or more races. There were 52 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who

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288-631: The CR&;NW railroad line, from Cordova to Kennicott, into a highway, but work halted with the 1964 Good Friday earthquake , leaving a significant gap between Chitina and the Million Dollar Bridge near Cordova. The rail route from Chitina to Kennicott is a roadway, the McCarthy Road. According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 95.8 square miles (248 km ), of which, 84.6 square miles (219 km ) of it

312-622: The Copper River between two scenic and active glaciers. The Childs Glacier to the west and the Miles Glacier to the east. Known as the Million Dollar Bridge, and constructed during severe winter conditions. It was considered one of the great engineering feats of all time. The bridge was among many affected by the 1964 Alaska earthquake – while other bridges along the Copper River Highway from Cordova to Chitina were destroyed,

336-490: The Million Dollar Bridge was "merely damaged". One of the bridge spans, #4, slipped off its foundation after the earthquake. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The bridge at Mile 49 needed to span 1,500 feet of the Copper River between two glaciers on either bank. Ice calving from the Miles Glacier meant the bridge needed to withstand icebergs, up to 20 feet in height, moving with

360-530: The archaeological sites south and east of Chitina. Before 1900, Chitina was the site of large village whose population was slowly decimated by the influx of people, disease and conflicts. Copper ore was discovered in about 1900 along the northern edge of the Chitina River valley. This brought a rush of prospectors and homesteaders to the area. Stephen Birch homesteaded the site in 1908. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway enabled Chitina to develop into

384-463: The bridge passable after the 1964 earthquake. The bridge was permanently repaired starting in 2004, and the repaired bridge was dedicated in August 2005. The controversial decision was made to repair it after a severe September 1995 flood caused the bridge to be impassable and also made an eventual washout of debris onto Childs Glacier inevitable. State engineers determined that it was less expensive to repair

408-413: The bridge than it would be to remove it, or (in a worst-case scenario) clean up if the bridge completely collapsed into the river. Such a cleanup would have been required due to the Copper River salmon runs. The repairs cost $ 16 million in federal and $ 3 million in state tax dollars. In August 2016, a large iceberg struck the icebreaker protecting the bridge’s first pier. The damaged icebreaker

432-475: The piers and icebreakers was accomplished through the use of caissons . The track reached the bridge site in Oct. 1908. Actual bridge construction started on 5 April 1909 with span #1 completed in 10.5 days, span #2 in 6 days, span #3 in 10 days and span #4 was completed a month later. The bridge was in full service by July 1910. Temporary repairs, consisting of a rudimentary system of cables, I-beams, and planks, kept

456-464: The smaller river near Chitina . The watershed was once a major copper mining region. The Chitina River is suitable for floating in rafts, kayaks, and decked canoes by boaters with sufficient wilderness and whitewater skills. From a put-in place near Hubert's Landing, slightly downstream of Chitina Glacier, the river is Class II (medium) on the International Scale of River Difficulty all

480-649: The south the main affluents are the Tana, Chakina, and Tebay rivers, which rise in the Chugach Mountains. Kiagna River is also a southern tributary of Chitina River. The Tebay River, and an associated set of lakes and smaller streams in the Tebay watershed, offer "the potential for some of the finest wilderness angling experiences to be had in Southcentral Alaska", according to Alaska Fishing . The main game fish in

504-402: The way to the mouth at Chitina. Boaters starting from Hubert's Landing will have to make a difficult 2.5-mile (4.0 km) portage to reach the main river channel. It is also possible to put in at Jake's Bar, about halfway between the glacier and the river mouth. The shorter trip requires no portage. Hazards include cold silty water, bad weather, and the remote location. Grizzlies pose

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528-448: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.07. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.3 males. The median income for

552-492: Was moved downstream during a high water event in 2019, and offers no protection to the first pier. Chitina, Alaska Chitina ( Ahtna Athabascan Tsedi Na ' [tʃɛ.diː.näʔ] < tsedi " copper " + na ' " river ") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Copper River Census Area , Alaska , United States . At the 2010 census the population was 126, up from 123 in 2000. Chitina

576-425: Was the most significant of the group. However, its use as a railroad bridge ended in 1938 when the Copper River and Northwestern Railway shut down. Work to convert the old rail bed into a highway bridge was completed in 1958. In the same year, a plaque was placed on the bridge: This Bridge once served the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad trains, and was converted to a Highway Bridge in 1958. The Bridge crosses

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