Designed by Chief Engineer of the San Diego and Arizona Railroad, Carl Eichenlaub, it was built to common standard drawing CS-33 standards.[1] The trestle was built in response to the collapse of Tunnel 15.[2] According to the original plans, the trestle would be 633-foot (193 m) long, and 186-foot (57 m) high.[3] Construction began in 1932.[4][5] Sections of the trestle were assembled at the bottom of the canyon, then lifted into position.[6] Redwood timber,[7] the same type used for railroad ties along the rest of the route,[8] was utilized because Carrizo Gorge's considerable temperature fluctuations could have led to metal fatigue in a steel bridge.[6] To resist Goat Canyon's high winds, it was built with a 14° curve.[4][9] Additionally, the bridge was built without nails,[4] using bolts instead. Construction was completed by 1933, leading to a realignment of the railroad route.[6] For fire suppression a tank car was located near tunnel 16.[10]

 Panoramic photograph of the area just north of, and of, the Goat Canyon Trestle

After World War II, the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway was impacted by increased automobile travel.[11] In 1951, scheduled passenger service over the trestle ended.[12][13][14][15] Intermittent freight traffic continued when the railroad was not closed due to damage.[13] In 1976, Hurricane Kathleen damaged the trestle, as well as the rest of the line; repairs were not completed until 1981.[16][17] Use of the railroad ended again in 1983 due to collapsed tunnels.[18] In 1999, Huell Howser visited the trestle and filmed an episode about it for the public television series California's Gold.[19] Restoration of the railway did not resume until 2003.[18] During the 2003 Cedar Fire, crews working on the railway repairs assisted the California Department of Forestry by extinguishing fires set by arsonists along the railroad tracks.[20]

The Carrizo Gorge Railway resumed service on the line after repairs were completed in 2004.[13] Pacific Southwest Railway Museum provided trips on the railroad from Campo.[13] In 2008, the Desert line, which includes track north of Mexico including Carrizo Gorge closed indefinitely for repairs, ending revenue rail usage of the trestle.[21] In early 2017, tunnel Number 6 near the trestle collapsed, and the route was obstructed.[22] In January 2018, Baja California Railroad assessed the line hoping to repair it to allow it to return to operation,[23] but efforts to repair the line had been abandoned by 2021.[24] The trestle remains a popular destination for hikers.[25][6][26][27]