Bridges were among the first essentials at Glen Canyon damsite. The vertical walls of the Canyon rise about 700 feet above the river. The distance from rim to rim is only 1,200 feet in a straight line, but it is about 190 miles by road.

The Glen Canyon Bridge, a spectacular rim-to-rim highway, spans the canyon immediately downstream from the dam. It is the highest and second-longest steel arch bridge in the United States; its 1,028 foot arch stands 700 feet above the river. The deck is 1,271 feet long. The roadway is 30 feet wide and is paralleled by 4-foot sidewalks. The bridge was dedicated and opened to public use on February 20, 1959.

Materials and equipment are transported to the canyon floor by highlines—heavy cableways stretched between towers, two on each rim. Loads of 50 tons are lowered from them on pendant hooks.