exit through the north park gate. Passenger vehicles are not allowed to cross the bridge. The road leading to and across the bridge from Route 50 is designated as Fremont County Road 3A and begins about west of Cañon City. The Royal Gorge Route Railroad runs under the bridge along the base of Royal Gorge. Highest bridges The Royal Gorge Bridge surpassed the Sidi M'Cid Bridge in Algeria in 1929 to become the highest bridge in the world with a deck height of , measured from the deck to the river surface below. The Liuguanghe Bridge in China surpassed the Royal Gorge Bridge in 2001 to become the new highest bridge with a deck height of . The Royal Gorge Bridge surrendered the title of the world's highest suspension bridge when the Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge in China was completed in 2003 with a deck height of . Several more even higher bridges, mostly in China, have been completed since 2003 causing the Royal Gorge Bridge to drop out of the top ten highest bridges in the world. , the Royal Gorge Bridge is among the 25 highest bridges in the world, and remains the highest bridge in the United States. Several additional bridges more than high are scheduled for completion through 2023, ten of them in China, plus the Chenab Bridge in India. Since late 2016, the highest bridge is China's Beipanjiang Bridge Duge, which has a cable-stayed span with a deck height of . The current highest suspension bridge is China's Sidu River Bridge opened in 2009 with a deck height of . History 1929–1950s The bridge was built between June and November 1929 at a cost of $350,000 (equivalent to $ million in dollars), which was $100,000 over budget (equivalent to $ million in dollars). The project was financed by Lon P. Piper, president of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Amusement Company of San Antonio, Texas. Piper hired George E. Cole as the Chief Engineer and the bridge was completed in about six months with no deaths or serious injuries. The formal opening occurred on December 8, 1929. Piper agreed to a twenty-year lease of the gorge and surrounding land, which is owned by Cañon City, paying a $1,000 yearly fee (equivalent to $ in dollars) to the city, with a reduced fee of $500 (equivalent to $ in dollars) in some years of hardship. In