Crosses Laurel Creek Opened 2002 Location Mars Hill Cross Laurel Creek | Clearance below over 200 ft (61 m) Total length 305 m Bridge type Plate girder bridge | |
Carries 6 general purpose lanes of I‑26 / US 19 / US 23 Similar Plate girder bridge, Delaware Memorial Bridge, Benjamin Franklin Bridge | ||
The Laurel Creek Gorge Bridge is a continuous steel plate girder bridge that spans Laurel Creek on Interstate 26/U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 23 between Asheville, North Carolina and Johnson City, Tennessee. It is the second tallest bridge in North Carolina—after the Peter Guice Memorial Bridge—with a clearance below of more than 200 ft (61 m). Construction of the bridge was finished in 2002. Due to its proximity to the higher mountains and its elevation of over 3000', the highway in this area is subject to heavy snow and icing. The bridge design incorporates a special system which sprays de-icing liquid onto the bridge deck during the winter whenever icing is detected.
This section of Interstate 26 is a designated North Carolina Scenic Highway. There are excellent views of the surrounding mountains to be found just east and west of the bridge, and from the bridge itself. Laurel Creek is a designated trout stream with excellent fishing conditions. During the bridge construction, efforts were made to not degrade the high-quality fishing available in the proximity of the bridge.