The original Navajo Bridge (this one) opened to traffic on January 12, 1929. It took a year and a half to complete and cost the lives of at least three men from a ferry accident used to transport materials across the river. The bridge was built just 5 miles south of the original Lees Ferry crossing of the Colorado River. Prior to the ferry and the bridge, a journey of 800 land miles around the canyons of the Colorado River was required to reach the two points across the river from each other. Despite its isolated location in 1929, the dedication for this bridge drew an audience of 7,000 people. There were also 1,217 automobiles.