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Progressive leaders in Redding, CA, sought a way to attract tourists to their city and its Turtle Bay Exploration Park, an educational preserve designed to "assist visitors to interpret the complex relationships between people and their environments." (See "Serving Our Community,"Accessed 06/01/2011.) Spaniard Santiago Calatrava (b. 1951) won a competition in 1996 to erect a radical 700-foot cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge over the Sacramento River leading to Turtle Bay Park. The bridge was 23 feet wide and designed to carry pedestrians and bicyclists. Some members of the public who backed a traditional covered bridge complained about the projects very high cost, $23.5 million. The McConnell Foundation, founded in 1964, provided some funds for the bridge's completion. This foundation was created by Carl (d. 1985) and Leah McConnell, who, in 1928, bought stock in the Farmers Insurance Group, which would provide hundreds of millions of dollars for the couple and their foundation.

The Sun Dial Bridge opened to the public on 07/04/2004.

PCAD id: 8465