as $50 million. Public access The public can enter the USFS land using an unmarked gate to a little-used dirt road on the east side of Highway 1, south of the Bixby Creek Bridge. There is no parking lot. Visitors can hike up a steep trail to the ridge overlooking the coast. Trail and road access To allow access to the Mill Creek Redwood Preserve, a trail was built by hand over ten years from Palo Colorado Road to an overlook. The trail was closed in 2016 due to destruction from the Soberanes fire. , the Palo Colorado Road is closed due to washouts caused by rains after the Soberanes Fire in 2017. To limit traffic on narrow Palo Colorado Road, access is limited to day use and only six permits per day are available. Visitors must obtain a permit in advance from the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District to visit the preserve. The trail head is located inland on Palo Colorado Road. The Old Coast Road that the bridge replaced remains open to vehicles, weather permitting. The Old Coast Road from the north side of Bixby Creek is long, cutting inland across the Little Sur River, and ends near the northern border of Andrew Molera State Park, to the south along Highway 1. Scenic designation The bridge contributes to the scenic attraction of driving Highway 1. The section of the highway from Cambria to Carmel Highlands was the first in the state to be designated as a Scenic Highway in 1965. In 1966 First Lady Lady Bird Johnson led the official scenic road designation ceremony at Bixby Creek Bridge. Overuse issues The bridge was already popular before the introduction of smart phones and social media, and visitors to the Bixby Creek Bridge and other Big Sur attractions have dramatically increased since then. Due to the large number of visitors, congestion and slow traffic between Carmel and the bridge is frequently the norm during popular holiday and vacation periods. The bridge was rated as the No. 1 “Instagram-Worthy Destination for 2019 Travels” by the website Travelpulse.com. The California state tourism commission describes the bridge as "a must-see road trip spot for many and probably the most Instagrammed features along [the] Highway 1 coastline." It promotes the bridge world-wide, including a deal with China's online tourism operator Tuniu that put the bridge on a custom route. During holiday weekends and most