The 56 mile Copper River Highway from Cordova ends at the "Million Dollar" Bridge, built in the early 1900s for over $1 million dollars. This former railroad bridge last went somewhere in the 1930s when the Kennecott copper mine was operating. The mine has since been abandoned, the 1964 earthquake collapsed the last span of the bridge, and erosion washed out the riverside highway beyond the bridge. In 2004-2005, the failed span was raised at a public cost of $19 million with the federal government paying over 80% of the cost.

The project left locals scratching their heads since a makeshift ramp allowed vehicle access across previously, and the only thing on the other side is a gravelly area. "I don't get it," said former Cordova Mayor Kelly Weaverling. "I hear we're going to have to cut old folks' homes and start taxing people in this state, and we're blowing millions of dollars on a bridge that's going to go nowhere. I think it's an incredible waste of money."