Art works featuring the Historic Rockville Bridge and other local reflections will be on display at the Canyon Community Center through July 9th.  Approximately 80 people attended the artists’ reception on June 2nd.

Participating artists have generously donated portions of these works to benefit the Rockville Bridge Capital Improvement Fund.  In April, the Joint Highway Committee voted to approve a change of scope to the bridge project, from replacement for $3.2 million to rehabilitation for $2.5 million.  The Town must now raise 6.77% of the funding to match the grant.

Please support this iconic symbol of our local heritage.  Built in 1924 as part of the Park to Park Highway System, the Rockville Bridge cut 33 miles off the journey of early visitors to the National Parks of Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon.  The first director of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather, personally contributed $5,000 to the bridge’s construction, a sum worth approximately $68,000 in 2016.

Known by earlier generations as the Green Bridge, it is the last surviving Parker through truss bridge in the state of Utah.  It serves as the only public crossing of the Virgin River between Zion National Park and the Town of Virgin, approximately 14 miles away.  Connecting the primary corridor to Zion, SR9, to the recreational areas of Gooseberry Mesa and Smithsonian Butte, as well as the historic ghost town where many movies have been filmed, Grafton, via a Scenic Byway.

Recent engineering studies have concluded the bridge’s structural steel has not been compromised significantly, but the bridge deck and the rusting metal need renovation.  Z-Arts supports the Town of Rockville in this endeavor, as the bridge serves as a frequent subject for local and traveling artists, photographers and videographers; it was the site The Piano Guys chose as backdrop for their music video Home.  And the historic landmark is steeped in a unique relationship with Zion National Park and the communities of Rockville, Springdale and Virgin.